OF  THE 
UNIVEBSIT 
Of 


$  * 


•V*  AM-  •  - 


Marking  the  Boundary 


EDWARD  EVERETT  BILLINGS 


ILLUSTRATED    BY 

JOHN  HENDERSON  GARNSEY 


ST.  PAUL 

The  Price-McGill  Company 

455-473  CEDAR  STREET 


Copyrighted  1893 

BY 

THE  PRICE-McGILL  CO. 


I  HINTED    AND    PLATED    BY 

THE  PRICE-McGILL  COMPANY 

ST.    PAUL,    MINN. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Joe  *  *  *  saw  the  savage  spring  into  the  air,    Frontispiece 

"  Yes,  the  vacancy  has  been  filled,"        -  Page     17 

He    felt    the   eaves    trough  begin  to  give  way 

under  his  weight,    - "         28 

A  gaunt  old  savage  *  *  *  rushed  on  the  doctor 

with  uplifted  knife,       ------  "58 

"Then  don't  get  in  a  good  man's  way,"       -        -        "         66 

The\r  all  saw  an  Indian  slowly  walking  toward 
them,         -------.-"         86 

"Ugh!    How!    How!" "       102 

The  scout  had  scalped  the  dead  Indian,      -      '-        "       128 

What  was  their  astonishment  to  find  themselves 

within  twenty  yards  of  the  nearest  one,         -        "       142 

In  the  apex  of  a  pyramid  *  *  *  was  the  nest 

containing  Abe  and  Ben, "       155 

Wolf  Voice  *  *  *  stood  there  a  lithe  and  almost 

naked  savage, "       174 

It  reached  the  ground,  there  to  be  confronted  by 
Joe, "188 

Tom  started  back,  his  foot  having  loosened  an 
immense  boulder,  which  went  crashing  down 
below, "       204 

'An  accident!    The}7  came  near  causing  one,"  "       214 

Two  loud  reports  rang  out,      ...       .  "       234 

'Why,  to  wash  out  a  few  panfuls  of  this  dirt,"  "       248 

Nearing   the   lower    end    of  the  rope  he  went 

slower  and  slower, "       270 


M578529 


MARKING   THE   BOUNDARY, 


CHAPTER   I. 

" Hello!  Tom!" 

"Well!  is  that  you, Joe?  I'm  glad  to  run 
across  you." 

"  And  I'm  glad  to  meet  3^011.  I've  wanted 
to  see  you  ever  since  I  heard  that  you  were 
going  out  to  the  land  of  the  buffaloes  and 
Indians.    Is  it  actually  a  fact,  Tom  ?  " 

"Yes,  it's  true  enough;  my  father  has 
promised  that  I  may  go,"  said  Tom,  with  a 
gleam  of  satisfaction  flooding  his  face, 
which  in  a  measure  subsided  as  he  noticed 
that  his  companion  looked  a  little  disap- 
pointed. 

"I  don't  envy  you,  but  I  do  wish  I  were 
going  with  you,"  said  Joe. 

"And  don't  I  just  wish  that  you  were! 
Why  don't  you  try  for  a  place  of  some  kind, 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 


Joe?"  said  Tom,  and  the  two  lads  stood 
discussing  the  all-absorbing  topic  of  the 
day,  which  was  the  equipping  and  departure 
of  the  United  States  Northern  Boundary 
Survey. 

"Why,  what  chance  would  I  have?" 
asked  Joe,  rather  gloomily. 

"You  don't  know  until  you've  tried." 

"But  I've  heard  that  the  partj^  was 
entirely  made  up." 

"That  will  not  make  airy  difference,"  said 
Tom,  as  a  sudden  thought  came  into  his 
head.  Tom  Troxwell  was  a  son  of  Major 
Trox  well,  who  was  chief  in  command  of  the 
expedition  that  was  soon  to  start  for  the 
north  to  finish  laying  off  the  forty-ninth 
parallel,  which  is  in  part  the  boundary  line 
between  the  United  States  and  the  British 
provinces.  These  two  lads  were  about  six- 
teen years  of  age,  and  had  been  school- 
mates for  several  terms  in  St.  Paul,  Minne- 
sota. 

"And  why  will  it  not  make  any  differ- 
ence?" asked  Joe. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 


"  Because  I  can  get  you  a  letter  from  rm^ 
father  and  perhaps  it  will  get  you  into  my 
party." 

"I  thought  you  were  just  going  along 
with  your  father  and  not  as  a  regular 
empire." 

"Oh  !  no !  there  are  no  idlers  allowed,  and 
every  one  who  goes  on  this  expedition  must 
be  regularly  employed,1'  said  Tom,  rather 
ostentatiously. 

"Well,  what  are  3-011  going  to  do? 
You  don't  know  any  more  about  surveying 
than  I  do,  and  neither  of  us  went  through 
more  than  eight  books  of  geometr\\" 

"I'm  not  expected  to  know  am^thing 
about  surveying.  I'm  the  Second  Assistant 
Bug  Catcher;  at  least  that's  what  Dr. Goon 
said  I  was  to  be.  Oh !  he's  the  jolliest  old 
duffer  I  ever  met,  and  I'm  very  glad  I'm  in 
his  party." 

"Bug  Catcher?  He  said  you  were  to  be 
the  Second  Assistant  Bug  Catcher?  He 
must  have  been  making  game  of  you,"  said 


10  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

Joe,  contracting  his  eyebrows  in  a  puzzled 
way. 

"  That's  just  the  berth  I'm  going 
to  fill,  all  the  same.  You  see,  Dr.  Goon 
is  the  naturalist  from  the  Smithsonian 
Institute,  and  he  has  to  have  a  lot  of 
fellows  catching  insects,  and  hunting 
up  bits  of  rocks  and  flowers  and  all 
such  things.  It's  going  to  be  a  jolly  lark. 
Come  on  over  to  father's  office  with  me 
and  I'll  get  you  a  letter  to  Dr.  Goon,  which 
I'm  sure  will  get  3^011  in  with  us,  if  you 
want  to  go." 

"  Want  to  go  !  Why,  I'd  just  give  him  my 
head  for  a  football  to  go  with  }rou,  and  Til 
try;  if  3Tour  father  will  be  so  kind  as  to  give 
me  a  letter  I'll  do  nry  best  to  deserve  it," 
said  Joe  Conklin  enthusiastically,  as  he 
followed  his  friend  down  Third  street  to 
Bridge  Square.  There,  in  rather  a  dilapi- 
dated old  building,  Major  Troxwell  had 
an  office,  for  in  those  dajTs  (it  was  in  the 
spring  of  1874)  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  was 
not  the  magnificent  city  it  is  now.      Fortu- 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  11 

nately  Major  Troxwell  was  in  his  office,  and 
as  the  two  bo}^  entered  he  looked  up  from 
the  paper  he  was  reading,  saying  good- 
naturedly  : 

"  Hello,  Tom.  I  suppose  3rou  ve  come  in 
to  tell  me  that  you  don't  like  the  idea  of 
going  up  there  among  the  Indians  now 
that  Custer  is  stirring  them  up  in  the  Black 
Hills." 

"Not  much,  sir.  I'll  chance  them  if 
you're  going,  and  I've  brought  my  chum 
with  me.  He  wants  to  go  along,  too," 
replied  Tom,  presenting  his  friend,  who 
acknowledged  the  introduction  in  such  a 
graceful  way  as  quite  to  win  the  old 
major's  good  opinion,  and  he  thought  that 
his  son  had  done  well  in  his  choice  of  a 
friend. 

"  Well,  boys,  it  seems  to  me  that  half  the 
people  in  St.  Paul  want  to  go;  all  the 
young  fellows  do,  and  they  certainry  can't 
all  go,"  said  the  major. 

"Of  course  not;  but,  father,  I  do  want  to 
have  Joe  with  me,  and  we  thought,  if  you 


12  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

would  only  give  him  a  letter— just  the  right 
kind  of  a  one,  you  know, — to  Dr.  Goon,  it 
might  get  him  into  his  party." 

"Oh!  What  a  diplomatic  young  man 
you  are!  And  you'll  be  satisfied  with  that, 
will  you?  Well!  I'll  write  you  a  note  to 
the  doctor,  but  I'm  afraid  his  party  is  com- 
plete and  it  will  do  you  no  good,"  said  the 
major,  and,  wheeling  around  in  his  chair 
and  grasping  a  pen,  he  scratched  off  a  few 
lines,  which  he  folded   and  handed   to  Joe. 

"Thank  you,  major,  thank  you,"  said 
Joe;  "even  should  I  be  unsuccessful  I  shall 
remember  your  kindness." 

"That's  all  right,  my  boy.  I  only  hope  it 
may  be  of  service  to  you,"  replied  the 
major,  resuming  his  paper,  and  the  boys 
withdrew  to  hunt  up  Dr.  Goon.  This  gen- 
tleman was  found  in  his  room  at  his  hotel, 
busily  engaged  at  a  table,  writing.  A  gruff 
"Come  in!"  responded  to  Joe's  rather 
timid  knock. 

"I  believe  this  is  Dr.  Goon  ?  "  said  Joe. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  13 

"Yes,  sir,  that's  what  I'm  called,"  an- 
swered the  doctor,  carefully  putting  his  pen 
behind  his  ear  and  leaning  back  in  his  chair. 
He  was  such  a  jolhr  looking  little  old  man 
that  Joe  could  hardly  refrain  from  laughing 
at  the  sight  of  him. 

He  was  very  stout  and  bald,  with  but  a 
fringe  of  hair,  as  white  as  snow,  running 
around  the  back  of  his  head,  and  smooth 
shaven  save  for  a  bushv  trim  miner  of 
white  whiskers  under  his  chin  from  ear  to 
ear.  A  wig  of  heavy  brown  hair  lay  on  his 
desk  in  front  of  him.  His  general  appear- 
ance reminded  Joe  so  much  of  a  jack-in-the- 
box  he  once  had  when  a  little  bo}^  that  he 
nearly  lost  the  use  of  his  tongue,  but  he 
managed  to  reply : 

"I  have  a  letter  of  introduction  for  you 
from  Maj  or  Tr  ox  well . ' ' 

"Humph !  ' Introducing  Mr.  Joseph Conk- 
1^,'  "  said  the  doctor,  reading  the  superscrip- 
tion. "How  d'ye  do,  Mr.  Conklin?  This 
other  young  man  I  believe  I've  met  before, 
the  major's  son,  eh?  " 


14-  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  Tom,  and  the  doctor 
hurriedly  glanced  over  the  letter,  and  then 
eyed  Joe  from  head  to  foot. 

"Well,  Mr.  Conklin,  3^011  think  you're 
especially  fitted  for  this  rough  kind  of 
work  ?  " 

"I  was  brought  up  on  a  farm  and  can  do 
most  any  kind  of  work  from  handling  an 
axe  to — to — "  and  here  Joe,  hesitating  for  an 
appropriate  word,  was  helped  out  hy  the 
doctor  with — 

"To  skinning  a  butterfly,  eh?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"And  3rou  suppose  that  you  could  skin 
and  stuff  butterflies,  I  don't  doubt;  now, 
don't  you  know,  3'oung  man,  that  it  takes 
3^ears  of  practice  to  do  that  ?  " 

"I  can  imagine  it  would,  sir." 

"Well,  that's  so,  but  we  have  lots  to  do 
besides  sticking  pins  into  butterflies.  My 
part3'  was  entire^  filled  three  days  ago," 
said  the  doctor,  and  Joe's  lower  lip  fell  a 
trifle  and  his  heart  sank  to  the  lowest 
depths,  for  he  had  hoped  from  the  doctor's 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  15 

manner  that  there  was  a  possibility^  of  his 
going  upon  this  great  journey  of  explora- 
tion. 

"I'm  awfully  sorry  to  hear  it.  I  did  not 
know  but  you  might  need  more  assist- 
ance, and — " 

"And  you  thought  you  were  just  the 
young  man  to  give  it?  Well,  sir,  let  me  tell 
you,  you  are  born  under  a  lucky  star;  cir- 
cumstances are  propitious  to  }Tour  very  first 
ambitions.  You  desire  to  assist  natural 
histoiw  in  its  endeavors  to  enlighten  this 
world  of  ignorance?  It  is  worthy  of  any 
man.  You  have  appeared  on  this  scene  at 
the  most  opportune  time.  My  Third  Assist- 
ant Bug  Catcher  has  been  exchanged  to  a 
position  in  the  Mound  Builder's  party,  and 
I'm  not  sorry;  he  was  too  big  and  clumsy 
for  work  of  this  kind.  He  was  not  a  man 
of  my  choosing,  no  indeed !  I  could  not  help 
thinking  of  the  state  of  mylepidoptera  com- 
ing out  from  under  his  heavy  hand  when- 
ever I  looked  at  him,  and  my  cryptogamia 


16  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

would  have  looked  like  chop-feed  fit  for  the 
mules  after  his  handling." 

"And  has  his  place  already  been  filled, 
sir?"  asked  Joe  Conklin,  almost  quivering 
with  anxiety,  for  the  doctor  had  taken  up 
a  small  book,  written  a  line  or  two  in  it, 
and  had  then  closed  it. 

"That  man  of  whom  I've  just  been  speak- 
ing, will  most  likely  take  more  solid  comfort 
in  pounding  stakes  into  the  ground  than  in 
any  employment  he  would  have  found  with 
me,"  said  the  doctor,  not  answering  Joe's 
question,  but  glancing  at  him  from  the 
corner  of  his  eye. 

"Excuse  me,  sir,  but  is  his  place  already 
filled  ?  "  repeated  Joe. 

"That  man  will  most  likely  be  congratu- 
lating himself  the  whole  time  upon  getting 
out  of  just  what  you  want  to  get  into. 
Yes,  the  vacancy  he  created  has  been  filled," 
said  the  doctor,  and  the  boj'S,  feeling  that 
further  conversation  would  be  useless,  were 
about  to  withdraw  when  the  doctor  with  a 
merry  twinkle  in  his  eyes  asked : 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 


17 


"Have  you  no  desire  to  know  who  has 
filled  that  vacant  berth?  " 


YES,    THE    VACANCY    HAS   BEEN    FILLED. 


"I'm  afraid  it  would  not  make  much  dif- 
ference to  our  interests,  sir,"  replied  Joe,  in 


a  lugubrious  voice. 


18  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Now  it  might,  jou  can't  tell;  3tou  must 
never  give  up  at  the  first  rebuff  in  this 
world ;  you  might  find  that  some  diffident 
young  fellow  had  it,  that  could  very  eas- 
ily be  persuaded  to  resign  in  your  favor," 
said  the  doctor,  laughing  at  the  expression 
on  the  boys'  faces. 

"Well,  who  is  the  lucky -fellow?  I'm  sure 
we'd  like  to  know,"  asked  Joe. 

"Well,  I  have  written  the  name  of  Joseph 
Conklin  in  place  of  the  man  exchanged," 
replied  the  doctor,  laughing  heartily. 

"Oh!  thank  you,  doctor,  thank  you,  and 
I'm  really  to  go  with  3^011  ?  I  can't  begin  to 
thank  you  enough,"  cried  Joe,  too  happy  to 
command  words. 

"Then  don't  try,  my  boy,  but  wait  a  bit, 
and   in   the   near  future  do  it  with  work." 

"I  will,  indeed!  I'll  try  to  do  everything 
required  of  me  in  as  faithful  a  manner  as 
possible,"  said  Joe,  earnestly. 

"All  right,  all  right,  boys,  you'll  find 
enough  to  do  after  awhile." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  19 

"  And  I've  nothing  else  to  do  about  join- 
ing the  expedition,  sir?  " 

"  Nothing,  except  to  be  on  hand  promptly 
at  the  depot  the  da}r  we  leave;  a  week  from 
day  after  to-morrow  is  the  day  now  set  for 
our  departure,  I  believe, "  replied  the  doctor, 
and,  after  again  expressing  their  thanks,  the 
boys  took  leave  of  the  jolly  old  natu- 
ralist. 


CHAPTER   IT. 

The  da}^s  dragged  along  as  da}rs  only 
can  to  boys  desirons  of  killing  time,  for  the 
old  man  with  the  scythe  appears  to  take  a 
malicious  delight  in  going  his  slowest  pace 
when  boys  want  him  to  step  along  smartly. 
This  week  to  Joe  Conklin  had  been  any- 
thing but  a  happy  one.  His  father  had 
refused  to  give  his  consent  to  his  going 
on  the  expedition,  and  had  forbidden  the 
further  mention  of  the  subject.  Joe  had 
always  been  a  most  dutiful  son  to  a  harsh 
and  unloving  father,  and  as  yet  had  never 
openly  disobeyed  his  commands.  The  even- 
ing previous  to  the  expedition's  departure 
had  arrived,  and  once  more  Joe  supplicated 
his  father  to  allow  him  to  go.  This,  instead 
of  bringing  about  the  desired  result,  put  his 
father  in  a  frenzy,  and  a  wordy  scene 
between  the  two  ended  in  poor  Joe  receiv- 
ing a  sound  thrashing. 

20 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  21 

Alas,  for  poor  Joe's  equanimity  of  mind  ! 
He  might  have  overcome  his  temptations 
but  for  this ;  now  he  vowed  he  would  go  in 
spite  of  his  father's  refusal.  The  tempta- 
tions had  fast  rolled  themselves  into  a 
determination,  as  the  unfortunate  lad  lay 
sobbing  and  moaning  on  his  bed  in  his  little 
attic  chamber,  moaning  more  in  the  spirit 
than  the  flesh,  as  Joe  was  one  of  those 
tough  fellows  that  could  stand  a  large 
amount  of  corporal  punishment.  He  would 
have  laughed  at  this  drubbing  from  another 
boy,  but  from  his  father,  given  in  the  spirit 
that  it  had  been,  it  made  him  sore  at  heart. 
Joe  pulled  himself  together  with  an  effort, 
repressed  his  feelings  and  said  to  himself: 

"He's  never  been  half  what  a  father 
should  be  to  me." 

This  palliated  the  thoughts  of  his  resolve 
for  a  surreptitious  leave  taking.  A  mother's 
love  Joe  had  never  known,  his  mother  hav- 
ing died  in  his  infancy. 

Joe  leaned  out  of  the  window  of  his  little 
room  and  wondered  if  he  should  ever  come 


22  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

back  to  it,  for  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that 
he  would  leave  the  house  during  the  night 
unknown  to  his  father.  That  gentleman 
had  evidently  been  thinking  of  some  such 
similar  event  happening,  for  just  then,  Joe 
heard  a  click  in  the  lock  of  his  door  behind 
him. 

"  Ha !  "  exclaimed  Joe,  as  he  turned  and  in 
a  mad  rush  threw  himself  against  the  door. 
But  to  no  purpose.  It  was  stout  and 
would  have  resisted  anything  but  an  axe, 
and  this  Joe  did  not  have.  Joe  then  listened, 
and  he  heard  his  father's  footsteps  receding 
from  the  door.  Yes,  he  was  locked  in.  He 
again  walked  to  the  window  and  looked 
down.  Too  far  for  a  jump — forty  feet  or 
more.  Joe  looked  to  the  right  and  then  to 
the  left.  Tall  elm  trees  extended  their 
branches  tantalizingly  near,  3-et  many  feet 
from  Joe's  window.  He  looked  out  and 
above.  At  the  far  corner  of  the  roof  a 
branch  from  a  large  elm  all  but  touched  the 
cornice. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  23 

"Oh!  for  some  way  to  reach  that  limb," 
thought  Joe. 

Again  he  looked  above  him  and  noticed 
that  the  eaves  trough  ran  along  the  edge  of 
the  roof  above  his  window,  extending  to 
the  corner  of  the  house  and  all  but  touching 
it.  Could  he  reach  the  eaves  trough  from 
his  window,  he  knew  he  could  swing  along 
hand  over  hand  until  he  came  to  the  limb  of 
the  elm,  and  from  thence  to  the  ground  it 
was  an  easy  road.  But  to  catch  the  eaves 
trough  from  his  window!  And,  then  would 
it  support  his  weight?  Here  were  two  dilem- 
mas. The  first  he  could  calculate  upon,  but 
the  latter  was  an  awful  thought.  There 
was  an  old  jointed  fishing  rod  in  his  room, 
and  with  this  he  measured  the  exact  dis- 
tance from  the  window  sill  up  to  the  trough. 
He  found  that  he  could  just  reach  it;  but 
again  that  awful  thought!  If  he  launched  his 
weight  out  on  it,  would  it  hold  him  ?  There 
was  no  way  of  ascertaining  but  by  making 
the  attempt,  and  this  he  decided  upon  doing 
as  soon  as  the  clock  in  the  court    house 


24  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

tower  struck  one.  The  moon  was  nearly 
full  and  lent  her  aid  in  showing  him 
the  way  out  of  his  troubles.  If  he  were 
only  successful  a  few  hours  would  find  him 
on  his  way  to  the  free  and  untrammeled 
trails  of  the  prairies.  There  he  would  be 
restricted  by  no  unreasonable  father;  there 
he  would  be  a  man  dependent  upon  himself. 
Again,  on  the  other  hand,  should  that  old 
trough  overhead —  No,  no !  He  put  such 
dismal  thoughts  out  of  his  head  ;  no  use  bor- 
rowing trouble.  He  had  determined  to  try 
this  one  and  only  mode  of  escape.  The  pros- 
pect before  him  was  well  worth  the  risk, 
and  thus  he  reasoned  until  the  clock  chimed 
the  fateful  hour.  A  shudder  ran  through 
his  frame  as  his  eyes  glanced  below.  But  he 
must  look  up  and  on,  and  trust  that 
he  might  find  the  old  trough  strong  and 
firm. 

Joe  lowered  the  upper  sash  and  then  stood 
out  upon  the  sill,  one  leg  on  either  side  of 
the  window  sashes,  supporting  himself  with 
these  as  he  straightened  up  and    reached 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  25 

above  for  the  edge  of  the  trough.  Securing 
this  with  his  hands  took  his  utmost 
endeavor,  and  indeed,  as  he  slowly  dropped 
his  weight  upon  it  his  toes  alone  rested  on 
the  sill.  Then  he  slowly  drew  his  feet  up 
from  the  sill.  It  was  solid.  Yes,  solid  and 
firm  there,  but  what  might  it  be  further  on 
where  he  had  no  trusty  sill?  His  was  the 
last  window,  and  there  was  no  succor  until 
he  reached  the  -limb.  "Faint  heart  will 
never  win,  so  here  goes,"  thought  Joe,  as  he 
swung  himself  forward,  withdrawing  one 
hand  and  again  grasping  the  edge  of  the 
trough  a  couple  of  feet  beyond. 

Then  came  the  most  awful  scream — a 
blood-curdling  yell  from  beneath,  and  poor 
Joe  almost  lost  his  grasp  as  his  blood  chilled 
to  the  ver\^  heart  within  him.  A  reverse 
swing,  and  he  was  back  again  with  the  sup- 
port  of  the  sill  beneath  his  toes.  He  was 
feeling  for  the  inside  of  his  window  with  one 
foot  when  again  came  that  harrowing 
sound  from  below,  which  at  the  unearthly 
hour  of  one  seemed  intensified   a  thousand 


26  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

fold.  Were  the  demons  of  trie  lower  regions 
in  wait  for  him  beneath  ?  Did  their  oecult 
powers  tell  them  that  here  was  a  003^  about 
to  disobey  his  father,  and  of  a  fearful  doom 
soon  to  be  his  in  consequence? 

The  last  prolonged  yell  was  followed  by  a 
sound  more  pronounced  in  its  felineintensity, 
and  Joe  grinned  in  the  silence  of  the  moon- 
light as  he  again  boldly  swung  himself  clear 
of  the  window.  Once  launched  forth  on  his 
perilous  journey  he  did  not  stop  to  test  or 
question  the  strength  of  the  trough,  but 
back  and  forth  his  lithe  body  swung  through 
the  air,  and  each  time  one  of  his  hands 
loosed  its  hold  his  other  was  a  couple  of  feet 
further  on.  Joe  was  quite  an  athlete,  and 
this  was  no  very  great  feat  for  him.  The 
strain  was  only  on  his  nerves.  Half  the  dis- 
tance safely  over  and  he  congratulated  him- 
self that  his  fears  had  been  needless.  The 
doleful  3rells  of  the  cat  had  portended  no 
direful  result. 

On  and  on  he  swung  himself,  almost  to 
the  end ;  the  honest  limb  of  the  old  elm  was 


HE  FELT  THE  EAVES  TROUGH  BEGIN  TO  GIVE  WAY  UNDER  HIS 
WEIGHT. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  29 

all  but  within  his  grasp,  when — Oh !  Great 
Heavens!  What  made  the  eaves  trough 
twist  and  give?  What  caused  that  creak 
ing  noise  above  him  ?  His  heart  sank  within 
him.  Was  his  body  going  down,  pulling 
the  eaves  trough  along?  He  felt  the  boards 
turn  and  crack,  then  slowly  sink  with  him. 
There  was  no  time  to  turn  back !  Nothing 
but  a  convulsive  clutching  at  the  board,  his 
finger  nails  digging  into  it  as  a  drowning 
man  clutches  at  a  straw.  Down!  Down! 
Yes,  he  was  surety  sinking!  The  trough 
could  not  sustain  his  weight;  and  within  an 
arm's  length  of  the  limb  ! 

What  Joe's  thoughts  were  he  hardly  knew 
himself.  He  felt  himself  going,  and  braced 
himself  for  the  fall,  thinking  that  all  would 
soon  be  over  with  him,  when  to  his  delight, 
before  the  boards  entirely  gave  away  and 
dashed  him  down  to  destruction,  he  felt  the 
leaves  and  trailing  branches  of  another 
smaller  limb  of  the  tree  brush  past  him  and 
with  the  energy  of  despair  he  let  go  his 
hands  from  the  trough  and  clutched    the 


30  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

frail  branches  of  the  big  limb  that  was  just 
beyond  him !  His  chances  hung  by  a  few- 
threads!  An  oriole  might  have  built  its 
nest  in  these  swinging  branches  and  felt  a 
safety  in  their  very  insecurity,  but  with 
Joe  grasping  them  in  his  hands  it  was 
another  matter.  Were  they  going  to  hold 
him?  He  felt  that  they  would  have  to,  and 
then  climbing  up  hand  over  hand  as  if  they 
were  an  inch  rope,  and  not  stopping  to 
question  the  situation,  Joe  soon  found  him- 
self on  a  stout  limb,  and  from  there  to 
another  and  then  to  the  main  trunk,  and 
quickly  sliding  down  was  once  more  on 
terra  firm  a! 

What  was  there  to  tell  of  his  escape?  An 
open  window  and  a  hanging  corner  of  the 
eaves  trough.  Joe  might  be  said  to  have  left 
the  window  open  and  have  jumped  to  the 
ground,  but  t  e  most  credulous  would  never 
admit  that  he  could  have  broken  the  eaves 
trough. 

"  And  so  your  father  relented  at  last,  did 
he?"  asked  Tom,  as  he  grasped  Joe's  hand 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  31 

the  next  morning  in  the  crowd  at  the  rail- 
way depot. 

"No,  he  did  not,  and  I've  had  a  hard  time 
to  get  here,  but  here  I  am  and  I  want  to  get 
out  of  sight  until  the  train  leaves,  for  I 
have  had  to  run  away,  after  being  locked 
up,  and  I  am  afraid  he'll  be  after  me,"  said 
Joe,  as  he  gazed  furtively  about,  although  he 
looked  none  the  worse  for  his  midnight 
adventure. 

"Then  let's  get  out  of  here,  and  into  one  of 
the  cars,  where  we  can  keep  a  watch  from 
the  window,"  urged  Tom,  as  he  hurriedly 
pulled  Joe  along  after  him. 

Eveiwthing  was  in  confusion;  men  and 
baggage  a  tumbling  mass.  The  bo\^s-  had 
no  sooner  found  seats  than  Dr.  Goon  came 
along,  evidently  looking  after  his  own 
party. 

"My  men  are  all  here  save  one.  Do  any 
of  you  know  whether  Mr.  Hugill  is  with 
us?  He  is  to  be  a  member  of  my  party.  Do 
you  boys  know  anything  of  Mr.  Hugill?" 


32  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"No,  sir,  I  don't  even  know  him,"  said 
Tom. 

4 'Nor I,  sir,"  echoed  Joe. 

"Well,  I  wish  he'd  come  along;  we  have 
only  ten  minutes  left  before  our  allotted  time 
for  departing,  and  I  don't  want  to  leave 
without  my  First  Assistant  Bug  Catcher," 
said  the  doctor,  who  leaned  over  the  boys 
and  looking  out  of  their  window,  added  hur- 
riedly: "Here  he  comes  now,  we're  all 
right."  The  boys  looked  out  of  the  window 
and  saw  a  very  tall  and  handsomely  dressed 
man  step  out  of  a  coach  the  top  of  which 
was  piled  up  with  trunks  and  valises.  This 
newcomer  had  long  blonde  side  whiskers 
and  was  dressed  in  the  very  height  of  fash- 
ion. He  paid  and  dismissed  the  cabman, 
and  then  ordered  some  men  to  put  his  bag- 
gage on  board  the  train. 

"Only  one  hundred  pounds  of  baggage 
allowed  to  any  one  man,  Mr.  Hugill,"  said 
a  man,  stepping  out  from  the  crowd,  who, 
the  boys  found  out  afterward,  was  the 
wagon-master,     and    had    to    superintend 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  33 

the  bnggage  and  freight  supplies.  Mr. 
Hugill  yery  quietly  adjusted  a  glass  in  his 
right  eye,  and  after  surve}-ing  the  wagon- 
master  for  a  full  minute,  drawled  out  with 
a  most  inimitable  English  accent: 

"Why,  bless  my  soul!  man,  d'3'e  suppose 
I'm  only  going  to  spend  the  evening  with 
ye?" 

"Can't  help  it,  Mr.  Hugill.  Major  Trox- 
well  himself  takes  only  one  hundred  pounds 
with  him,  and  I've  strict  orders  about  it." 

"Blawstit!  man,ca\vn'tyemakean  excep- 
tion in  my  case?  I'm  not  used  to  such 
things,  ye  know." 

"You'll  have  to  see  the  major,  and  get 
orders  from  him,"  answered  the  wagon- 
master,  shortly. 

"Blawst  this  whole  beastly  Yankee 
nation!  I  will  see  the  major,"  said  Hugill, 
walking  hurriedly  down  the  station  plat- 
form to  where  the  major  stood  talking  to 
some  of  the  officers,  and  Dr.  Goon  straight- 
ened himself  up  and  laughed  most  heartily, 
as  he  said : 


34  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"That  fellow  Hugill  is  as  good  as  a 
comedy  any  day;  I'm  glad  we're  not  to  go 
off  and  leave  him." 

"Was  he  out  with  the  expedition  last 
year?"  asked  Tom. 

"Yes,  he  was  in  my  party,  and  a  very 
good  man  to  work,  too,  when  once  out  in 
the  field,"  replied  the  doctor,  and  a  moment 
after  they  saw  Air.  Hugill  approach  the 
wagon-master  and  hand  him  a  slip  of 
paper.  The  man  read  it  and  then  giving 
orders  to  some  others  they  put  all  of  Mr. 
Hugill's  six  trunks  and  many  valises  on 
board  the  train.  The  shrill  whistle  sounded 
out  upon  the  early  morning  air  of  a  delicious 
spring  day.  The  bell  rang  and  the  conduc- 
tor shouted : 

"All  aboard!" 
Mr.  Hugill  made  a  rush  for  the  cars,  but 
was  intercepted  by  a  short  man  with  a  full 
square  cut  beard  whom  Joe  had  already  dis- 
covered to  be  his  father.  That  gentleman 
was  much  excited,  and  exclaimed  wildly  as 
he  grasped  Hugill  by  the  coat  collar: 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  35 

"  Where's  Joe  Conklin?   Where's  myjoe?" 

"How  do  I  know  where  your  Joe  is?  My 
good  man,  step  aside  or  I  am  left ! " 

"Stop  this  train  !  Where's  the  conductor? 
Hello,  there!"  excitedly  shouted  Mr. 
Conklin  as  Hugill  rudely  tore  himself  from 
his  grasp  and  rushed  to  the  now  rapidly 
moving  train  and  sprang  upon  the  rear 
platform  of  the  car  that  the  boys  were  in. 
The  train  did  not  stop  nor  did  Mr.  Conklin, 
senior,  see  fit  to  get  on.  Mr.  Hugill  walked 
along  the  aisle  looking  for  a  seat  and  found 
an  unoccupied  one  next  to  the  boys. 
Addressing  himself  to  them  he  said  : 

"I  wonder  who  that  crazy  old  duffer 
might  have  been  that  imagined  I  was  kid- 
napping his  Joe— Joe— Joe  something,  I  did 
not  catch  the  last  name,  ye  know." 

"Some  escaped  lunatic,"  replied  Tom, 
winking  at  Joe. 

Here  Dr.  Goon  came  back  again  through 
the  car  with  a  pleasant  word  for  everj-body, 
as  he  steadied  himself  with  a  hand  on  the 
backs    of    the    seats    against    the   jerking 


36  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

motion  of  the  cars.  Joe  was  now  fearful 
lest  the  doctor  had  discovered  that  he  was 
running  away,  but  he  soon  banished  this 
from  his  mind. 

"How  d'ye  do,  doctor!  Why,  bless  me! 
you  look  3rounger  than  when  we  journe3Ted 
together  last  summer;  'pon  me  word,  3re're 
looking  well!"  cried  Hugill,  as  he  shook 
hands  with  the  doctor. 

"Thank  you,  Hugill,  I  feel  as  3roung  as  the 
rest  of  3rou,  but  let  me  introduce  3tou  to  our 
fellow- workers,  Mr.  Tom  Troxwell,  son  of 
our  astronomer,  and  Mr.  Joe  Conklin.  You 
might  try  to  acquaint  them  with  their 
future  duties,  if  you  will  be  so  kind,  as  I 
must  attend  to  my  things  in  the  next  car." 

"Right  3^ou  are,  doctor,  I'll  do  what  I  can, 
yeknow,"  returned  Hugill. 

The  train  was  now  bowling  along  at  a 
rapid  rate  and  for  the  first  time  Joe  felt  that 
he  was  safehr  on  his  wTay  to  the  great 
unknown  country  of  the  Northwest.  He 
had  not  been  able  until  now  to  conquer  the 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  37 

feeling  that  something  would  yet  occur  to 
prevent  him  from  going. 

"I  believe  vou  were  out  with  the  expedi- 
tion last  year,  Mr.  Hugill,"  said  Joe,  with  a 
shade  of  deference  in  his  tone,  for  one  who 
had  alread3r  trod  the  glorious  prairies  was 
one  to  be  respected  in  his  estimation. 

"Yes — I  went  with  the  expedition  lawst 
year,  ye  know,  and  if  I  had  known  what 
beastly  arrangements  had  been  made  for 
transportation  this  summer,  I'd  have  made 
my  arrangements  to  sta\-  home,"  replied 
Mr.  Hugill,  stroking  his  long  blonde  side 
whiskers,  with  one  hand. 

"One  hundred  pounds  of  baggage  doesn't 
seem  much,"  said  Tom,  wondering  what  kind 
of  a  comrade  this  would  prove  to  be. 

"One  hundred  pounds!  Don't  ye  know, 
at  home  that  would  be  as  nothing,"  cried 
Mr.  Hugill. 

"But  how  did  you  manage?  I  noticed 
that  you  had  all  of  your  trunks  put  in  the 
baggage  car,"  asked  Joe,  thinking  that  per- 


38  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

haps  this  gentleman  had  some  influence  at 
court. 

"They  allowed  me  transportation  for 
everything  to  Fort  Buford  ;  that's  the  point 
where  we  leave  the  Missouri,  ye  know,  and 
take  to  wagons.  Beyond  that  I  have  to 
furnish  my  own  transportation  to  Fort 
Benton ;  that's  at  the  head  of  navigation, 
so  after  parting  with  my  boxes  at  Buford  I 
will  not  see  them  again  until  we  reach 
Benton  in  the  fall.  You  see,  we  go  due  north 
from  Buford  to  the  line  where  we  left  off 
work  lawst  }^ear.  Thence  west  along  the 
line  to  the  Rock3r  mountains,  where  we  con- 
nect with  the  terminus  of  the  survey  that 
was  made  back  in  the  fifties.  After  connect- 
ing with  a  monument  there,  we  strike  south 
to  Fort  Benton,  ye  know,  and  either  disband 
there  or  come  down  the  Missouri  again, 
and  as  I  don't  intend  coming  back  to  St. 
Paul  I've  taken  all  my  belongings  with  me, 
ye  know,"  said  Hugill,  in  a  drawling  tone, 
yet  withal  in  a  pleasantly  disposed  way,  to 
make   these   novices   understand  what  was 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  39 

the  plan  of  the  summer's  campaign  in  as 
few  words  as  was  possible. 

1 '  Oh !  I  see,  it's  a  long  trip,  is  n 't  it  ?  "  said 
Joe. 

"  It  will  not  seem  so  long,  though  it  will 
take  us  all  summer  to  make  it." 

The  pine  forests  and  tamarack  swamps  of 
Minnesota  were  rapidly  followed  b\-  the 
rolling  prairies  of  Dakota  and  the  journey 
by  cars  to  Bismarck  was  soon  made.  The 
wearisomeness  of  the  ride  was  lessened  by 
the  novelty  of  the  sights  from  the  car  win- 
dows, and  in  making  friends  among  the 
men.  Bismarck  was  reached  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  next  day,  and  without  being- 
allowed  time  for  the  inspection  of  this 
frontier  town,  ever\^  one  was  ordered  to 
report  on  board  the  steamer,  or  rather  the 
flat-bottomed  steamboat,  waiting  for  them 
at  the  landing,  which  was  about  a  mile 
from  the  town. 

All  was  confusion  at  the  boat,  as  the  load- 
ing had  to  be  done  before  night.  Over  one 
hundred  mules  were  tied   up   on  the  lower 


40  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

deck,  the  wagons  being  lined  all  about 
the  upper  one.  The  commissary  supplies 
and  baggage  had  to  be  stowed  away  and 
then  the  men  were  told  that  they  might 
make  use  of  the  great  canvas-covered 
wagons  for  their  state-rooms. 

"This  is  pretty  jolly,  isn't  it?"  said  Joe, 
as  he  and  Tom  threw  their  rolls  of  blankets 
into  the  bottom  of  a  wagon  and  made 
down  their  bed. 

The  next  morning  with  the  first  streak  of 
daylight  the  boat  was  heading  up  the 
stream  in  the  muddy  and  swollen  Missouri. 
The  scenery  was  changeless,  cut  banks  and 
low  bottoms,  at  which  the  boys  were  soon 
tired  of  gazing. 

"I  wonder  what  that  big  sheet  of  iron  is 
for,  up  there  on  each  side  of  the  pilot- 
house," asked  Tom. 

"Let's  go  and  ask  the  pilot,"  replied  Joe. 

"He  may  not  want  any  one  up  there  with 
him." 

"  Well,  he  can  tell  us  so.   Come  on,  let's  go 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  41 

tip  these  little  stairs  and  ask  him  if  we  may 
come  in  awhile." 

"  All  right,  yon  go  on  up  and  I'll  follow," 
said  Tom,  and  as  the  boys  gained  the  door 
of  the  pilot-house  the  boat  was  quite  near 
to  the  bank,  on  which  the  bo\-s  saw  an 
Indian  running  up  and  down,  waving  his 
blanket,  evidently  signaling  the  boat ;  then 
the  door  of  the  pilot-house  suddenly  opened 
and  the  man  at  the  wheel  shouted : 

"Come  in!  Come  in,  quick!  if  3-011  don't 
want  to  get  shot,  quick  !  "  and  the  bo\-s  had 
no  sooner  stepped  inside  than  the  heavy 
door  swung  shut  behind  them. 

What  was  that  peculiar  twanging  sound 
that  whistled  past  their  ears?  and  what 
made  the  pilot  act  so  excitedly?  It  was  the 
first  time  in  their  lives  that  a  leaden  messen- 
ger of  death  had  flown  by  within  a  few 
inches  of  their  heads,  and  as  yet  the\^  were 
unconscious  of  their  narrow  escape. 


CHAPTER   III 

"  Well,  now,  if  that  pesky  varmint  didn't 
play  it  pretty  cunning!  He  don't  show 
himself  again  so  bravely,"  said  the  captain, 
as  he  peered  over  the  top  of  the  iron  screen 
that  had  first  attracted  the  boys' attention, 
holding  in  his  hands  a  long  needle-gun  ready 
for  a  snap  shot. 

"Why!  what's  the  matter?"  asked  both 
the  boys  together. 

''Matter!  That  government  pet  sent  a 
bullet  mighty  close  to  you  chaps  as  you 
came  in  that  door,"  replied  the  captain. 

"Is  that  so?  I  thought  I  heard  some- 
thing sing  b3r  my  ear  but  was  not  certain," 
said  Tom. 

"But  I'm  sure  I  heard  it  and  could  not 
imagine  what  it  was,  but  I  heard  no 
report,"  declared  Joe,  stepping  close  up  to 
the  captain  to  watch  for  signs  of  the  Indians. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  43 

"Of  course  you  could  not  hear  it  from 
here,  with  all  the  noise  of  our  engines," 
answered  the  captain,  who  then  slipped 
over  to  the  speaking  tube  and  shouted 
through  it  to  those  below: 

"Watch  out  fur  Injuns  down  there!  Lie 
down  all  hands  and  get  ready  3rer  guns !  " 

"Do  j^ou  think  there  are  more  of  them  ?  " 
asked  Tom,  with  a  slight  tremor  of  excite- 
ment in  his  voice. 

"To  be  sure!  Them  fellers  never  hunts 
alone.  Dare  say  that  pint  of  brush  above 
is  full  of  them." 

"Goodness!  But  I  wish  I  had  a  gun, 
too! "  cried  Joe. 

"Do  ye?  Well,  now,  my  boy,  thars  a 
dozen  in  that  ar'  long  box,  back  of  the 
wheel.  Jest  get  out  a  couple,  and  if  ye  know 
how  ter  shoot  ye  may  have  a  chance.  Keep 
her  head  a  couple  pints  out  in  the  stream, 
Bill." 

"Aye,  sir,"  said  the  pilot,  speaking  for 
the  first  time,  as  he  made  a  turn  of  the 
wheel  but  keeping  his   eyes   up    the  river. 


44-  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

The  bo}^s  found  some  cartridges  in  with  the 
rifles,  and  like  all  Minnesota  bo3<s  knew 
well  how  to  load  them. 

"That  chap  that  took  a  pop  at  us  disap- 
peared as  if  he  had  sunk  into  the  ground/' 
remarked  Joe. 

"He  most  likety  has  crawled  through  the 
long  grass  up  to  that  brush,"  replied  Tom, 
keeping  his  eyes  on  that  one  spot,  believing 
he  saw  something  more  than  the  leaves 
moving  in   the  wind   there. 

"More  water  here  than  when  we  went 
down,  eh,  Bill  ?  "  said  the  captain. 

"Aye,  sir,"  returned  that  gentleman. 

"We  can  clear  the  pint  and  stand  off  one 
pint  more?  " 

"Aye,  sir." 

"Then  let  her  have  it,  and  we'll  chance 
them  infernal  thieves  doing  an}-  harm  as  we 
go  by." 

"Aye, aye,  sir,"  answered  the  pilot,  giving 
a  slight  turn  to  the  wheel. 

"How  slowly  we  go!"  exclaimed  Joe, 
impatiently. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  45 

"  Yes,  the  water  is  very  swift  here,"  said 
Tom,  still  keeping  his  e\res  on  the  brushy 
point  that  the\r  were  slowly  nearing. 

"We  are  gaining  now,"  continued  Joe,  as 
the  captain  had  just  rung  for  all  the  steam 
that  could  be  crowded  on. 

"Do  you  think  there  are  many  Indians  in 
that  brush,  captain?  I  am  certain  that  I 
see  something  moving." 

"I  reckon  it's  just  chuck  full  of  them.  If 
the  boys  down  below  had  as  good  a  chance 
as  we've  got  up  here,  we  could  make  a  clean 
up,  but  them  Injuns  '11  keep  back  of  that 
brush  and  chance  a  pop  at  us,"  said  the 
captain. 

The  boat  was  now  nearly  opposite  the 
brush,  and  the  water  was  getting  less 
rapid,  so  that  their  headway  was  increas- 
ing. The  boys  were  in  a  fever  of  excite- 
ment, and,  when  the  captain  placed  his 
hat  on  the  end  of  his  gun  and  thrust  it  out 
of  the  doorway  the\^  could  hardly  contain 
themselves.  Several  white  puffs  of  smoke, 
— and  this  time  the  boys  plainly  heard  the 


46  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

report  of  the  rifles  from  the  bank — told  them 
that  their  suspicions  had  been  correct. 

"  Never  touched  !  But  it's  not  their  fault 
that  they  haven't  spoilt  a  new  four  dollar 
hat  for  me,  and  now  let's  give  it  to  them, 
bo\'s!  "  shouted  the  captain,  as  he  hauled  in 
and  examined  his  hat. 

"But  I  can't  see  a  thing  to  shoot  at," 
declared  Joe,  peering  over  the  top  of  the 
iron  screen. 

" Never  mind,  let's  all  turn  loose  on 
that  brush  pile.  Just  as  much  luck  in  a 
chance  shot  hitting  one  of  them  as  if  we 
could  see  them  to  shoot  at,"  asserted  the 
captain. 

"All  right,  here  goes!"  said  Joe,  and, 
Bang!  Bang!  Bang!  went  the  old  needle- 
guns;  hurriedly  reloading,  Bang!  Bang! 
Bang!  again  went  the  guns,  while  a  gen- 
eral fusilade  was  now  started  from  the 
lower  decks. 

Nor  was  this  received  at  all  quietly  by  the 
Indians,   as  from   different   quarters  of  the 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  47 

underbrush  the  white  puffs  of  smoke  arose 
and  the  reports  of  their  rifles  rang  out. 

"Ha!  Ha!  There's  one  fellow  done  for," 
shouted  the  captain,  as  the  tall  form  of  an 
Indian,  gaudily  bedecked  in  war  paint  and 
feathers  shot  up  into  the  air  with  both  arms 
thrown  above  his  head,  his  rifle  flying  back 
from  his  outstretched  hands. 

"Lucky  shot,  whoever  hit  him,"  replied 
Joe,  throwing  in  another  cartridge  and 
again  blazing  away  at  the  spot  where  he 
saw  the  Indian  fall.  Tom  had  not  been  idle, 
and  from  the  empty  shells  scattered  about 
his  feet  one  would  think  that  his  chances  of 
having  sent  some  of  them  to  their  accounts 
were  not  small. 

"Thejr  got  more  than  they  wanted  that 
time,"  said  the  captain,  as  the  boat  was  now 
fast  leaving  the  dangerous  spot. 

"  One  of  them  will  never  try  it  again,  and 
more  may  have  been  wounded,"  asserted 
Joe. 

"The  bullets  whistled  around  here  pretty 
lively  for  a  while.   We  can  thank  that  screen 


48  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

for  not  getting  hurt,"  said  Tom,  looking  up 
the  river  for  the  first  time  since  the  first  shot 
was  fired. 

" That's  what  we  can,  bo\rs;  but,  Great 
Heavens,  Bill,  they've  hit  you!"  exclaimed 
the  captain. 

"Aye,  sir,"  answered  the  cool  and  undis- 
turbed pilot,  with  his  eyes  steadily  upon  the 
water  course  in  front  of  him. 

"Not  much,  I  hope,"  said  Tom,  looking 
uneasiW  at  the  blood  pouring  down  the 
pilot's  cheek. 

"A  bit  of  a  scratch,  that's  all,  and,capt'n, 
if  you'll  hold  her  a  bit,  I'll  run  down  and 
wash  my  face  and  hunt  up  a  bit  of  sticking 
plaster,"  and  with  this,  the  longest  speech 
he  had  made  in  some  time,  he  ran  down  the 
steps.  The  major  now  came  rushing  up 
much  excited,  but  seeing  Tom  standing 
unhurt  he  became  himself  again. 

"Hello!  major,  just  too  late.  I've  not 
had  so  much  fun  since  I  ran  on  the  last 
sand  bar.  These  kids  of  yours  are  good 
ones! " 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  49 

"Nobody  hurt,  I'm  glad  to  see.  The  pilot 
said  a  bullet  barely  scratched  his  face.  He 
was  in  luck.  Close  call,  that,"  remarked 
the  major. 

"Close  call,  yes,  I  should  say!  I  gave 
them  a  chance  at  my  hat  and  they  couldn't 
hit  it,  and  then  we  turned  loose  on  'em," 
replied  the  captain. 

"I  hope  we'll  have  no  more  such  work. 
How  long  will  it  take  us  now  to  reach 
Buford  ?  "  asked  the  major. 

4 'If  we  have  good  luck  we  may  reach  it  in 
four  days." 

"But  what  may  happen,  do  you  think,  to 
delay  us?" 

"Most  anything  you  can  think  of,  from 
running  on  a  sand  bar  to  t3'ing  up  for  dark 
nights." 

"Oh!  that's  a  fact,"  said  the  major,  and 
then  the  boys  followed  him  down  to  his 
cabin.  There  they  spent  a  few  hours  with 
him  and  then  sauntered  out  between  the 
decks.  The  shooting  match,  as  it  was 
called,  had  been  talked  over  and  was  soon 


50  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

forgotten  b}r  the  most  of  them.  The  boys 
hunted  about  in  search  of  amusement  and 
came  upon  Mr.  Hugill  luxuriously  ensconced 
on  a  pile  of  mule  harnesses,  smoking  a  pipe. 
He  had  a  red  skull  cap  on  his  head,  his 
lower  limbs  were  encased  in  a  pair  of  cordu- 
roy breeches  buttoning  from  the  knees  to 
the  ankles,  and  a  blue  woolen  shirt  com- 
pleted his  costume.  He  did  not  look  quite 
so  aristocratic  as  on  the  day  before. 

"Well,  Mr.  Hugill,  enjoying  a  smoke,  are 
you?"  asked  Tom. 

"Yes,  I've  my  old  togs  on  now,  and  I  just 
wish  my  aunt,  the  Lady  Frances  Hugill, 
might  see  me,  just  as  I  am;  it  would  make 
the  old  lady  squirm  in  her  chair;  it  would 
bring  her  to  time,  but  it's  too  late  now,  ye 
know,"  drawled  Mr.  Hugill,  between  the 
puffs  of  smoke  issuing  from  his  lips.  He 
pronounced  certain  vowels  very  broadly 
and  every  word  with  a  strong  English 
accent. 

"What's  too  late?  I  don't  understand 
you,"  said  Tom,  amused  at  the  figure  Mr, 
Hugill  presented. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  51 

"I  told  the  old  lady — my  auntie  know,  is 
the  Lady  Frances  Hmjill — I  told  her  she 
would  have  to  increase  my  allowance,  and 
blawst  it  if  she  did  n't  write  and  say  she 
would  not  send  me  another  remittance, 
that  she  had  sent  me  the  lawst  penny  she 
was  going  to!  I  wrote  her  if  she  did  not 
I'd  go  off  again  on  this  beastly  surveA',  and 
here  I  am,  the  only  heir  to  the  Hugill 
estates,  nothing  but  a  bug  catcher,  blawst 
the  whole  Yankee  concern." 

"  Why  did  you  not  go  off  with  the 
English?  They  are  to  have  their  men  up 
there,  too,"  asked  Joe,  thinking  that  if  Mr. 
Hugill  did  not  like  this  government  he 
would  better  have  staid  among  his  own 
people. 

"That  would  never  do,  ye  know;  they 
would  all  have  heard  of  it  at  home." 

"I  think  a^ou  might  have  done  worse.  It 
is  something  to  be  the  First  Assistant  Bug 
Catcher.  I'm  only  the  second  and  I'd  not 
change  places  with  a  senator,"  exclaimed 
Tom. 


52  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"I'm  only  third  and  I'd  not  exchange 
with  the  president,"  echoed  Joe. 

"That's  all  very  well,  now,  but  wait  until 
we've  been  out  a  few  months,  ye  know; 
then  you  will  pine  after  the  flesh  pots  of 
Egypt.  Then  you  will  think  of  a  dish  of 
potatoes  as  a  beggar  does  of  a  plum  pud- 
ding," said  H u gill,  puffing  furiously  at  his 
pipe  without  getting  any  smoke.  It  had 
gone  out. 

"Don't  they  give  us  any  potatoes  when 
we  are  up  there?"  asked  Tom,  who 
thought  that  thefare  onboard  the  boat  was 
simply  abominable,  and  if  it  were  to  grow 
worse  he  feared  he  would  starve. 

"Nothing  to  eat  and  Indians  shooting  at 
us  alread\r!" 

"Yes,  but  we've  had  the  fun  of  shooting 
at  them,"  returned  Tom. 

"Yes,  and  what  profit  is  there  in  that? 
Had  one  of  the  beggars  put  a  hole  through 
you,  your  father  would  not  have  felt  com- 
pensated had  we  killed  the  whole  Indian 
nation.     He  was  in  a  great  stew  down  here, 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  53 

and  it  took  three  of  us  to  hold  him  from 
running  up  there  when  the  beggars  were 
peppering  the  sheet  iron  of  the  pilot  house," 
said  Hugill,  as  he  puffed  away  at  his  pipe. 

Here  the  conversation  was  interrupted  by 
the  shrill  whistle  of  the  boat  sound- 
ing out  over  the  waters,  and  the  roust- 
abouts were  making  preparations  for  a 
landing.  Wood  was  to  be  taken  on.  It 
was  very  slow  work  going  up  against  the 
heavy  current,  for  here  it  was  strong  and 
turbulent,  a  mad,  surging  mass  of  muddy 
water,  rushing  and  grinding  against  the 
sand}^  banks,  constantly  cutting  under  and 
tumbling  down  tons  of  earth  that  were 
instantly  churned  about  and  dissolved  by 
the  greedy  waters. 

The  boat  was  nearing  the  bank.  Two 
bells  sounded  and  the  engines  ceased  their 
powerful  efforts.  Nearer  yet  to  the  bank. 
The  headway  was  now  gone;  in  a  moment 
more  she  was  drifting  down.  One  bell! 
Again  the  engines  labor,  and  with  the  pilot 
rapidly     turning      the     wheel     her     bow 


54  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

approaches  nearer;  the  plank  is  run  out, 
and  a  deck  hand,  more  venturesome  than 
the  rest,  with  a  small  rope  in  his  hand  takes 
a  running  jump !  Ha !  He  scarcely  finds  a 
footing,  and  for  a  moment  all  expect  to  see 
him  fall  backward  into  the  water,  but  by  a 
desperate  grasping  at  the  willows  he  climbs 
up  and  pulls  his  small  rope  after  him! 
Then  all  give  him  a  rousing  cheer,  for  it 
was  a  fine  leap  with  the  chances  of  a 
muddy  bath  if  he  failed.  To  his  small  rope 
is  tied  the  heavy  cable,  which  he  hauls 
after  him,  and  securing  it  he  runs  on  up  the 
bank  and  fastens  it  to  the  trunk  of  a 
gnarled  cottonwood  tree.  The  boat  now 
comes  close  to  the  bank  and  the  planks 
connect  them  with  the  shore.  Here  are 
long  rows  of  cord  wood,  and  back  of  the 
wood  the  tops  of  a  number  of  Indian  tepees 
are  seen  with  the  smoke  curling  above  the 
forking  lodge  poles.  The  pungent  odor  of 
the  box  elder  fires  fills  the  air;  the  whole 
atmosphere  is  laden  with  that  scent  so 
DeculiarLy  belonging  to  an    Indian    camp, 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  55 

whether  it  be  from  the  box  elder  fires,  or  the 
red  willow — or  killikiniek  as  the\-  call  it — 
that  the\r  smoke.  Then  came  the  faces  of 
the  squaws  and  pappooses  peering  from  over 
the  wood  and  at  the  ends  of  the  piles,  while 
the  noble  red  men  themselves,  in  dirty 
blankets  tightened  at  their  waist  with  belts 
full  of  government  cartridges,  stood  in 
stoical  silence  at  the  landing  place.  A 
repulsive  looking  half-breed  acted  as  inter- 
preter, and  the  captain  soon  made  a  bar- 
gain with  the  chief  for  the  amount  of  wood 
he  wanted. 

"Come,  boys,"  said  the  doctor  to  Joe  and 
Tom,  "let's  go  on  shore  while  those  fellows 
are  loading  on  the  wood  and  see  what  we 
can  find." 

"All  right,  sir,"  they  both  shouted,  and 
followed  by  Hugill,  who  had  climbed  down 
from  his  seat  on  the  harness,  they  all  went 
on  shore. 

11  What  a  dirty  looking  lot,"  said  Tom. 

"Yes,  they  are  not  over  particular  about 
some  things,"   replied  Joe,    as   they  picked 


56  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

their  way,  avoiding  the  remnants  of  deer 
that  lay  deca}dng  on  the  ground  and  over 
which  swarms  of  flies  were  buzzing.  The 
ground  was  littered  with  chips  and  bones, 
bits  of  buckskin,  odds  and  ends  of  all  kinds 
of  fur,  together  with  old  moccasins  and 
worn  out  rags  of  blankets. 

They  strolled  about  the  camp.  Most  of 
the  tepees  were  closed,  however,  and  they 
were  about  to  return  to  the  boat,  when  a 
lodge  larger  than  the  rest  and  standing 
somewhat  away  from  the  others  attracted 
their  attention.  This  had  its  entrance 
thrown  wide  open,  the  corners  of  the  skin 
covering  pulled  back  showing  the  interior 
to  all  observers. 

"What  kind  of  a  la\rout  is  this?"  asked 
Tom,  peering  inside. 

The  far  side  was  divided  off  from  the  main 
interior  by  a  hanging  curtain  of  deer  hides 
nicely  tanned  and  curiously  embellished 
with  rude  drawings  and  figures.  A  curious 
chain  of  polished  elk's  teeth  hung  down 
from    above,   and    many    eagles'    feathers 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  57 

elsewhere  adorned  the  background.  The 
curtain  of  buckskin  was  fringed,  with  porcu- 
pine quills,  and  in  front  of  this  was  what 
evidently  appeared  to  be  a  rude  altar, 
although  at  first  sight  this  did  not  appear 
as  such  to  our  hunters  after  specimens. 

The  doctor  stepped  in  and  looked  about 
him.  All  was  quiet,  and  no  one  appeared  to 
be  present  to  take  umbrage  at  this  inspec- 
tion. On  the  queer  structure  of  willow 
sticks  that  afterward  proved  to  be  the  altar 
lay  many  curious  things.  At  either  end  was 
a  collection  of  odds  and  ends  that  would 
have  defied  the  pockets  of  any  boy  to  equal. 
The  rattles  from  the  tails  of  innumerable 
rattlesnakes,  rabbit's  feet,  bear's  claws  and 
owls'  heads  seemed  to  predominate.  In  the 
center  of  the  rude  table  lay  an  article  that 
the  bo\'S  would  have  passed  by  unnoticed 
but  upon  which  the  doctor's  e3^es  were 
fastened. 

"Ha!  ha!  what's  this?  A  phytolite !  and 
one  of  the  best  and  rarest  specimens  I've 
ever  found,"  said  the  doctor,  bringing  it  out 


58 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 


for  more  careful  inspection  in  the  sunlight, 
and  in  his  excitement,  forgetting  all  about 
the  laws  of  u  tneum  et  tuum"    of  which, 


A    GAUNT   OT/D    SAVAOB 


RUSHKD   ON  THE   DOCTOR   WITH 


'PT.TFTKP     KNIFE. 


however,  he  was  most  forcibly  reminded  by 
a  weird  and  gaunt  looking  old  savage  who 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  59 

had  followed  him  out  and  with  a  3^ell  of 
execration  now  rushed  upon  the  doctor 
with  an  uplifted  knife.  The  doctor's  con- 
nection with  this  story  would  have  here 
found  an  end  had  it  not  been  for  the  quick- 
ness and  agility  of  Joe.  The  infuriated  sav- 
age sprang  past  Joe,  but  the  lad  was  yet 
quicker.  Joe's  right  hand  grasped  the 
uplifted  wrist  of  the  savage  and  the  fingers 
of  his  left  seized  upon  the  tangled  scalp  lock 
of  the  murderous  redman.  Joe's  left  foot 
was  behind  the  Indian's  heels  and  with  a 
sudden  but  dexterous  movement  the  villain 
wTas  thrown  sprawling  on  his  back  !  The 
knife  which  he  had  clutched  so  wickedly 
went  flying  through  the  air  which  was  filled 
with  the  yells  of  the  Indian.  Some  one 
would  surely  have  been  hurt  had  not  others 
of  the  expedition  been  close  by,  and  now  an 
excited  mob  stood  about  the  participants 
in  this  incident.  All  were  talking  at  once. 
English  and  the  Indian  dialect  were  so  com- 
mingled that  neither  could  be  understood. 
The  old  fellow  that  had  suffered  from  Joe's 


60  MARKING    THB    BOUNDARY. 

dexterous  handling  was  haranguing  his 
tribe,  and  with  wild  gesticulations  pointing 
at  the  doctor.  Then  the  half-breed  inter- 
preter was  pushed  to  the  front  and  when 
silence  had  been  obtained  he  said : 

"Mena-tonah-haha  is  the  great  medicine 
man  of  this  tribe,  the  Gros  Ventres,  and 
he  says  that  while  he  was  sleeping  back  of 
his  altar  the  'chief-that-has-lost-his-sealp 
(pointing  to  the  doctor  who  stood  with  his 
hat  in  his  hand  ;  as  it  was  a  very  warm  day 
he  had  left  his  wig  in  his  state-room)  came 
and  stole  the  god  of  the  Gros  Ventres,  and 
that  he  has  it  now  in  his  pocket!  " 

Then  came  angry  yells  from  the  Indians, 
the  squaws  and  the  pappooses  seemed  to  be 
the  most  infuriated.  All  looked  at  the 
doctor  for  an  explanation,  and  that  good 
man  looked  rather  sheepish  as  he  put  his 
hand  in  his  pocket  and  produced  what 
appeared  to  be  a  smooth  conical  stone, 
rounded  at  the  top. 

"That's  it,"  said  the  half-breed,  and  then 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  61 

the  air  was  filled  with  yells,  grunts  and  gut- 
terals  of  all  kinds  from  the  Indians. 

"Ha!  ha!  doctor,  this  bit  of  iconoclastic 
robbery  will  have  to  be  atoned  for,  ye 
know;  'pon  me  soul,  ye'll  be  out  a  good 
pound  of  tobacco  now,"  cried  Hugill,  laugh- 
ing, and  the  doctor,  taking  the  hint,  sent 
Tom  back  to  the  boat  for  a  supply  of  that 
weed  which  is  more  holy  in  the  sight  of  the 
Indian  than  all  the  gods  of  his  forefathers. 

The  doctor  then  handed  the  stone  that 
he  had  pronounced  to  be  a  pl^tolite  to  the 
interpreter  who  gave  it  to  the  medicine 
man.  That  worthy  carefully  wrapped  it  in 
his  blanket  and  disappeared  before  Tom 
returned  with  the  tobacco.  The  doctor  dis- 
tributed this  luxurj-  in  a  judicious  manner 
among  the  Indians  and  all  seemed  again  in 
harmony.  A  few  hours  after,  again  on 
board  the  boat,  puffing  and  steaming  its 
way  northward,  found  Dr.  Goon  walking 
up  and  down  the  forward  deck  in  a  most 
disconsolate  mood. 


62  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"You  look  troubled,  sir,"  Joe  remarked, 
as  he  passed  him  for  another  turn. 

"Yes,  yes.  Oh!  Joe,  that  plrytolite!  An 
opportunity  of  a  life  time  gone !  I  should 
have  had  that,  Joe.  No  mistake,  it  should 
have  been  mine,"  lamented  the  doctor. 

"I  knew  it,  sir,  and  therefore  acted  with- 
out your  advice;  here  it  is,  sir!"  said  Joe, 
taking  the  stone  out  of  his  coat  pocket  and 
handing  it  to  the  doctor,  who  when  he  had 
satisfied  himself  that  it  was  the  same,  the 
treasure  of  past  generations  of  Gros 
Ventres,  most  likely,  and  worshiped  by  this 
one,  fairly  danced  with  joy. 

"Wli3r,  Joe,  Joe,  my  boy!  How  did  you 
manage  it?  How  did  3'ou  secure  this 
treasure?"  exclaimed  the  doctor. 

"Well,  sir,  when  I  went  back  to  the  boat 
that  time,  I  thought  to  myself  that  the  half- 
breed  would  certainly  not  have  much  rever- 
ence for  the  thing,  and  so  I  took  along  an 
extra  pound  of  tobacco  and  a  pint  of  alco- 
hol, to  bribe  him  with.  I  bought  him  over 
very  easily,  and  he  gave  the  medicine  man  a 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  63 

taste  of  the  spirits,  telling  the  old  thief  that 
it  was  the  elixir  of  life  and  would  make  him 
live  for  ever.  Then  it  was  no  trouble  to 
make  a  trade  for  the  stone.  The  faithless 
priest  will,  with  a  few  lies,  make  the  tribe 
think  that  it  was  stolen,  but  by  that  time 
we  shall  be  far  away." 

44  Joe !  Joe !  This  is  not  all  fair  and  honor- 
able. I  can  hardly  commend  such  action. 
Joe,  I — I,  ah!  well,  it  was  done  in  a  good 
cause,  but,  mind  me,  sir,  don't  you  do  it 
again!  " 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  days  flew  by  very  quickly  to  Tom 
and  Joe,  and  before  they  had  become  well 
accustomed  to  the  novelties  of  the  voyage 
on  the  upper  Missouri  they  found  them- 
selves at  Buford.  The  trip,  however,  was 
becoming  tedious,  no  more  Indians  had 
been  seen,  and  only  an  occasional  buffalo  or 
two  swimming  the  river,  or  the  stopping  for 
wood  broke  the  monotony  of  their  lives. 
Ft.  Buford  at  length  came  in  view,  and 
the  cheerful  sight  of  the  old  stars  and 
stripes  waving  proudly  over  the  officers, 
quarters  was  greeted  by  cheers  from  all  on 
board. 

The  bustle  and  confusion  of  unloading 
was  made  more  exciting  by  the  braying  of 
the  mules.  These  poor  brutes,  so  delighted  at 
the  prospects  of  terra  firma  once  more, 
gave  vent  to  the  most  earsplitting  bra}'s. 

The  wagon-master  was    in  his   element, 

64 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  65 

and  gave  orders  on  all  sides  for  the  unload- 
ing of  the  boat.  He  was  no  respecter  of 
persons,  and  poor  Mr.  Hugill,  looking 
about  among  the  miscellaneous  piles  of 
baggage  for  a  missing  valise,  his  long  legs 
leaping  from  place  to  place,  attracted  the 
attention  of  this  master  of  ceremonies. 

44  Look  lively,  Hugill,  and  lend  a  hand 
with  this  dunnage  here!"  said  he. 

44  Beg  pardon,  but  }re  cawn't  know  who 
3^ou  are  talking  to !  I  did  not  come  out 
here  to  be  ordered  about  by  a  blawsted  idiot, 
ye  know,  nor  to  lend  a  hand  to  an}rone.  I 
never  heard  of  such  impudence!"  replied 
Hugill,  his  arms  a-kimbo,  and  his  legs 
stretched  wide  apart,  one  foot  on  a  trunk 
and  the  other  on  a  roll  of  blankets. 

"Then  don't  get  in  a  good  man's  way," 
cried  the  wagon-master,  grasping  the  trunk 
by  its  leather  handle,  and,  with  a  sudden 
jerk  drawing  it  out  from  under  Hugill,  and 
tossing  it  on  his  own  shoulder  he  carried  it 
to  one  of  the  wagons,  leaving  Hugill  sprawl- 


66 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 


ing  on  his  back  among  the  luggage. 
Every  one  set  up  a  roar  of  laughter,  much 
to  Hugill's  annoyance,  but  as  he  then  found 
the  article  for  which  he  had  been  searching 
he  called  to  Tom,  who  stood  near  him : 


"THEN   DON'T   GET  IN  A  GOOD  MAN'S  WAY." 

"Here,  }roung  fellow,  assist  me  with  this; 
we  want  to  get  our  own  traps  loaded  as 
soon  as  possible,  ye  know." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  67 

"Drag  it  over  3'ourself.  I've  got  ray  own 
luggage  to  look  after,"  was  Tom's  rather 
ungracious  reply,  as  he  did  not  like  the  way 
he  had  been  spoken  to,  nor  had  he  been  told 
to  obey  orders  from  Mr.  Hugill. 

".I'll  help  you,"  offered  Joe,  thinking  that 
it  might  save  trouble.  He  grasped  one 
handle  of  the  heavy  valise  and  they  carried 
it  over  to  the  wagon. 

"Here,  Hugill,  this  is  the  doctor's  wagon," 
said  the  wagon-master,  who  had  pretended 
not  to  notice  Hugill's  mishap  and  calmly 
pointing  to  a  four-mule  team  at  his  right. 

"That  one?" 

"Yes." 

"Thank  3^ou,  Mr.  Wagon-boss,  I'm  glad 
you've  provided  a  good  one  for  us,"  said 
Hugill. 

"And  see  that  3rou  don't  pile  in  more 
than  you  are  allowed,"  replied  the  wagon- 
master,  as  he  walked  off. 

"It's  enough  to  make  an  English  gentle- 
man insane,  ye  know,  to  be  spoken  to  by 
such   a  fellow.    It's  a  beastly  shame,  'pon 


68  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

me  word,"  growled  Hugill  in  an  undertone, 
as  they  put  the  valise  in  the  wagon. 

"I  suppose  Tom  and  I  are  to  put  our 
baggage  in  here,  too,"  remarked  Joe. 

"Yes,  and  there  will  be  room  for  all  we 
want  to  take.  I  have  some  things  I  don't 
need  at  present,  and  I  shall  ship  them  to 
Benton  bj'  the  next  boat,  but  everything  I 
want,  I'm  going  to  take,  ye  know." 

"I  have  not  mo  re  than  twenty-five  pounds, 
and  I  could  claim  some  of  yours  and  put  it 
in  as  mine,  if  you  wish." 

"Thanks,  awfully;  if  that  cad  bothers  me 
I'll  fix  him,  ye  know,"  said  Hugill,  who  had 
not  relished  his  unlooked-for  tumble  and 
had  not  forgotten  it. 

"I  think  he  was  very  impertinent,"  ven- 
tured Joe. 

"  Why,  the  fellow  is  most  likely  drunk  and 
doesn't  know  what  he  is  about,"  grum- 
bled Hugill. 

After  the  wagons  had  been  loaded  and  the 
men  had  stowed  everything  away  they  all 
formed  a  long  line  and  as  the  wagon-master 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  69 

expressed  it,  they  " pulled  out,"  and  that 
evening  took  their  first  steps  overland 
toward  the  boundary  line.  The  work  of 
establishing  the  line  was  commenced  in  the 
fall  of  1872  and  prosecuted  until  mid-winter 
to  take  advantage  of  the  frozen  condition  of 
the  ground  about  the  lakes  and  swamps  of 
Northern  Minnesota,  through  which  it 
extended. 

The  summer  of  '73  was  expended  in 
reaching  the  dividing  line  between  Dakota 
and  Montana,  and  it  was  at  this  point 
that  they  were  now  to  resume  work.  The 
work  was  done  jointly  by  the  United 
States  and  British  governments.  A  com- 
missioner invested  with  full  powers  was  the 
head  of  each  command,  which  was  neces- 
sarily divided  into  a  number  of  smaller 
parties. 

The  astronomical  party,  or,  as  it  was 
commonly  called,  the  "Star  Baggers,"  took 
the  lead.  They — that  is,  the  one  of  each 
nationality — would  proceed  westward  by 
compass  and  then  each,  from  astronomical 


70  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

observations,  establish  a  point  as  nearly 
as  science  would  let  them  as  a  tangent 
point  on  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  latitude. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  point  was 
never  identically  the  same  as  found  by  each 
government,  but  the  difference  was  always 
divided,  and  it  is  wonderful  after  all  things 
are  considered  how  close  these  two  points 
would  be — sometimes  but  fifty  feet  and  sel- 
dom more  than  three  hundred  apart. 

This  done  the  astronomical  parties 
would  again  proceed  westward,  and  the 
chief  engineer  go  to  work  laying  out  the 
line  between  these  main  points.  His  busi- 
ness was  to  find  the  correct  places  for  the 
mounds  that  were  to  be  built  03'  the  party 
called  the  "mound  builders."  These 
mounds  were  placed  at  irregular  intervals, 
but  so  that,  standing  at  any  one,  you 
could  see  one  east  and  one  west  of  you. 
They  would  be  from  half  a  mile  to  seven  miles 
apart,  according  to  the  surface  of  the  coun- 
try. The  mound  builders  were  to  erect 
mounds  at  these  points  twelve  feet  square 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  71 

at  the  base  and  six  feet  high.  They  were  to 
be  made  of  stone,  when  stone  could  be 
found,  otherwise  of  sods.  A  sheet  iron 
plate  a  foot  square,  with  the  letters  "U.  S. 
N.  B.  S."  cut  in  it,  was  supposed  to  be 
buried  beneath  each  mound.  The  iron  for 
this  purpose  was  brought  along.  It  was  in 
sheets  a  half  inch  thick  and  about  three  by 
six  feet,  and  as  blacksmithing  was  done 
under  difficulties  on  the  prairie,  it's  not  safe 
to  say  that  one  will  be  found  under  each 
mound.  These  mounds  were  the  initial 
points  for  the  smaller  topography  parties 
to  work  from.  There  were  three  or  four  of 
these  on  each  side  of  the  line,  whose  busi- 
ness it  was  to  get  the  detail  of  all  small 
streams,  rivers,  mountains  and  hills  for  a 
distance  of  five  miles  on  each  side  of  the 
line.  This  would  make  a  map  of  ten  miles 
of  country  through  this,  at  that  time, 
unknown  region. 

The  naturalist's  party  (to  which  our 
young  friends  belonged),  or  as  it  was  com- 
monly   called    "The    Bug  Catchers,"    was 


72  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

another  feature  of  this  great  work.  They 
were  to  investigate  the  flora  and  fauna  and 
collect  specimens  for  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tute. The  expedition,  as  we  have  said,  had 
"pulled  out,"  and  after  about  three  miles' 
travel,  was  on  a  high  table  land,  giving  a 
grand  view  of  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone 
river  flowing  into  the  Missouri.  The  bot- 
tom lands  were  a  mass  of  dark  green  from 
the  foliage  of  the  cotton  wood  trees,  and  the 
level  prairie  stretched  off  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach  like  a  great  }^ellow  sea.  Tom 
came  back  and  said  : 

"The  wagon-master  says  that  we  are 
going  to  pitch  camp  down  in  that  grove 
about  three  miles  from  here." 

"I'm  glad  it's  no  farther,  for  I'm  getting 
hungry,"  said  Joe. 

"It  is  not  very  far,  and  we  will  not  have 
to  wait  long.  The  wagon-master  said  that 
you  and  I  would  have  to  help  pitch  our  own 
camp,  and  help  the  cook  to  take  his  stove 
and  provisions  out  of  the  wagon;  that 
there  is  no  one  else  in  our  party  but  you 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  73 

and  me,  and  Hugill,  the  cook,  and  the  doc- 
tor, of  course." 

"The  two  teamsters. " 

"Yes,  I  forgot  them." 

"We  don't  seem  to  have  a  very  large 
party." 

"No,  but  from  what  I  have  heard  we  are 
to  travel  with  the  astronomical  party;  they 
always  stay  the  longest  in  one  camp." 

"Why  is  that?" 

"So  that  we  can  have  time  to  make  col- 
lections and  don't  have  to  be  pulling  up 
camp  and  pitching  it  again  every  day." 

"Oh,  I  see.  That  will  be  more  pleasant 
for  us,  I  should  think." 

"Yes,  the  topography  parties — and  there 
are  three  of  them — have  to  move  camp 
every  da}V  said  Joe. 

They  now  commenced  to  descend  toward 
the  lowlands  again,  and  in  less  than  an 
hour  the  great  long  string  of  mule  teams 
had  been  corraled,  the  mules  been  taken  off 
and  turned  loose  to  find  their  own  feed 
amid  the  sage  brush  growing  at  the  foot  of 


74  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

the  bluff.  The  doctor's  party  had  a  large 
cook's  tent  and  two  smaller  wall  tents.  In 
one  of  these  was  placed  the  doctor's  and 
Hugill's  bedding,  the  other  was  taken  pos- 
session ofhy  Tom  and  Joe.  It  was  the  first 
time  that  the  boys  had  ever  slept  in  a  tent, 
and  they  were  discussing  the  pleasures 
entailed,  when  Hugill  put  his  head  inside  of 
their  canvass  and  called : 

"Come  out  here,  Joe,  I've  got  something 
for  you  to  do,  ye  know." 

Joe  went  outside  and  followed  Hugill 
over  to  his  tent,  asking,  as  they  went: 

"What  is  it,  Mr.  Hugill?" 

"I  want  one  of  you  young  fellows  to 
make  down  my  bed  every  night;  there's 
my  roll  of  blankets  on  that  side," 
and  without  further  words  he  walked  off 
into  the  darkness,  leaving  Joe  very  much 
astonished. 

Joe  was  about  to  disregard  the  order  and 
go  back  to  his  own  tent,  but,  looking  inside, 
by  the  dim  light  of  the  hanging  lantern  he 
saw  something  on  the  ground  which  made 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  75 

him  think  otherwise,  and  in  a  few  moments 
he  had  HughTs  blankets  unrolled  and  made 
down  upon  the  ground  for  his  bed.  When 
he  returned  he  did  not  inform  Tom  what 
had  been  wanted  of  him  and  the  boys 
were  soon  asleep.  Just  how  long  the\-  had 
slumbered  they  did  not  know,  but  they 
were  aroused  by  cries  and  j-ells  from  the 
next  tent  of, — 

"Murder!  Oh!  Oh!  Murder!  Help! 
Help!  Ah!  Oh!  Ouch!  Help  me,  here! 
Help!  Help!" 


CHAPTER    V. 

It  did  not  take  Tom  half  a  minute  to 
pull  on  his  clothes,  but  Joe  was  rather  slow 
about  getting  out  and  every  man  in  that 
part  of  the  camp  was  about  the  doctor's 
tent  when  he  reached  it. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Joe,  quite 
innocently,  for  the  \rells  and  imprecations  of 
a  long  legged  individual,  exceedingh^  decol- 
lete as  to  dress,  were  heard  above  the  hum 
of  many  voices. 

"I  reckon  Mr.  Hu gill's  gone  crazy,"  said 
the  wagon-master,  standing  near  Joe,  for  by 
the  fitful  glare  of  a  large  bonfire  burning 
between  the  two  rows  of  tents,  the  excited 
and  gesticulating  figure  could  be  seen  to  be 
that  of  Mr.  Hugill. 

"Reckon  he's  gone  distracted,  'cause  he 
had  ter  part  with  them  Saratogers,"  said  a 
mule  driver,  laughing. 

76 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  77 

"Throw  some  water  on  'im,"  suggested 
another,  and  it  actualh'  began  to  look  as  if 
he  were  in  a  fit.  He  stormed,  raved,  and 
swore  most  incoherently,  and  it  was  some 
time  before  Tom,  who  was  quite  near  to 
him,  could  catch  the  drift  of  his  speech. 

"Oh!  My  back!  Ah!  Ouch!  My  legs! 
Oh!    Oh!    Oh!"  yelled  Hugill. 

"What's  the  matter  with  3^ou  ?  "  shouted 
a  dozen  voices. 

"  Oh  !  That  young  scamp !  Oh  !  My  back 
feels  as  if  it  were  on  fire,"  moaned  Hugill, 
quieting  down  a  little. 

"What  in  the  world  is  the  matter  with 
you?  You  make  more  noise  than  all  m3' 
mules,"  said  the  wagon-master,  crowding  up 
to  Hugill  to  see  what  was  making  all  the 
trouble. 

"Oh!  For  heaven's  sake  find  the  doctor! 
That  3^oung  cad  has  done  it  on  purpose,  ye 
know.  Where's  Joe?  Just  let  me  get  hold 
of  him !  Blawst  him,  I'll  break  every  bone 
in  his  bod3' !  "  roared  Hugill,  turning  around 
and  t^ing  to  straighten  the  pole  of  his  tent 


78  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

which  he  had  half  knocked  down  in  his  mad 
rush  out.  Hugill  went  back  into  his  tent 
followed  by  the  cook  of  his  party  and  one 
or  two  others  who  offered  to  assist  him  in 
his  trouble.  Tom  heard  Hugill  mutter  "I 
wish  the  doctor  were  here  to  pull  them 
out,"  and  then  he  hunted  around  to  find 
Joe.  This  young  man  had  kept  quite  on  the 
outside  of  the  crowd,  prepared  to  bolt 
should  anyone  attempt  to  lay  hands  on 
him.    Seeing  Tom  approach,  he  asked  : 

"  Is  he  much  hurt,  do  you  think  ?  " 

i 'He  doesn't  seem  to  be,  but  no  one  can 
find  out  what's  the  matter  with  him.  He's 
yo  wing  vengeance  on  you;  what  did  you  do 
tohim?,, 

"I  did  not  do  anything  to  him;  on^  did 
just  what  he  told  me  to  do.   Ha!   Ha!   Ha" 

4 *  What  was  it  ?  Tell  a  fellow  all  about  it, 
can't  you?  " 

uHa!  Ha !  Ha !  Did  n't  he  cut  a  pretty 
figure?  You  see  it  was  this  way:  he  called 
me  out  there  and  told  me  to  make  down  his 
bed  for  him.     Well,  I  didn't  come  out  as  his 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  79 

servant,  but  I  happened  to  see  some  prickly 
pears  growing  in  his  corner  of  the  tent  and 
I  thought  I  would  do  as  he  told  me  to,"  and 
then  both  of  the  boys  again  laughed  in 
blissful  contemplation  of  Mr.  HugilPs  dis- 
comfiture. 

"Oho!  What  a  jolly  go!  I  wonder  if  it 
will  lay  him  up?  "  said  Tom.  questioningly. 

44  Oh,  no;  he  had  two  heavy  blankets 
under  him;  the  cacti  could  not  much  more 
than  have  just  pricked  through;  he's  more 
scared  than  hurt,"  replied  Joe. 

"He'll  not  want  you  to  make  down  his 
bed  again;  he  must  think  we're  his  valets." 

"Ihopethedoctor'll  not  be  mad  about  it." 

"No  danger  of  that.  He'll  enjoy  a  joke  on 
Lord  Hugill  as  well  as  the  rest.  Were  there 
any  prickly  pears  on  the  doctor's  side?  " 

"No,  there  are  not  many  of  them  any- 
where here;  more  just  where  I  laid  Lord 
Hugill's  blankets  than  any  other  spot  about 
camp,"  replied  Joe. 

The  boys  went  back  to  their  own  bed. 
It  was  several  days  before  Hugill  entirely 


80  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

recovered  from  his  mishap,  and  it  was  only 
the  most  earnest  protestations  on  the  part 
of  Joe,  who  accounted  for  it  by  the  darkness, 
that  prevented  retaliation  on  Hugili's  part. 

This  was  the  first  camping  out  that  the 
boys  had  ever  participated  in  and  they  were 
delighted  with  it.  They  remained  in  this 
place  for  four  or  five  daj^s  waiting  for  their 
escort.  They  were  also  much  pleased  in  the 
improvement  in  the  culinary  department. 
They  had  a  jolly  little  Irishman,  named  Pat 
Mollo}',  for  their  cook,  and  he  prided  himself 
upon  doing  more  with  limited  resources 
than  any  other  cook  in  the  expedition. 

"Good  morning,  doctor.  Are  we  to 
remain  here  another  day  ?  "  asked  Hugill  at 
the  breakfast  table,  the  third  morning  of 
their  encampment. 

"So  it  seems,  Mr.  Hugill,"  replied  the 
doctor. 

"It's  beastly  stupid  here,  ye  know. 
Cawn't  we  take  a  spin  up  the  river  to-day, 
and  see  what  we  can  pick  up  ?  " 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  81 

"Yes,  we  might  find  something  of  interest. 
Sajr,  Pat,  where  did  }rou  learn  to  make  such 
fine  cakes?  "  asked  the  doctor,  as  he  helped 
himself  for  the  third  time. 

"In  the  kitchen,  sor,"  answered  Pat,  as 
he  turned  those  frying  on  the  griddle,  for 
their  dining  room  and  kitchen  were  one. 

"Ha!  Ha!  Pat,  that's  very  good.  Well, 
we're  going  out  for  a  little  walk  this  fore- 
noon, and  we  may  be  late  for  dinner,  so 
don't  worry  about  us  if  we  are." 

"  All  right,  sor." 

"And,  boj^s,  you  bring  a  hand  net  and  a 
few  tin  boxes  which  Mr.  Hugill  will  find 
you,  while  I  hunt  up  my  book.  We'll  make 
our  first  attempt  this  morning." 

"Yes,  sir,  we'll  be  ready  in  a  moment," 
replied  Tom,  as  he  went  after  the  required 
articles. 

The  doctor,  accompanied  by  the  two  boys 
(leaving  Mr.  Hugill  behind,  busy  at  some 
work  of  preparation  for  the  future),  walked 
up  the  river  bottom  toward  the  bluffs.  It 
was  more  like  a  grand  picnic  to  Joe  than 


82  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

any  idea  of  work  he  could  form.  The  doctor 
talked  as  he  gaily  trod  over  the  soft  grass 
and  mosses. 

"Now,  keep  your  eyes  open,  boys,  and  see 
who  will  find  the  first  new  specimen," 
said  he. 

"All  right,  sir.  I  think  we  can  find  any 
number,"  replied  Joe. 

"Why,  we've  passed  no  end  of  queer 
flowers,"  exclaimed  Tom. 

"It's  not  so  easy  as  you  imagine  to  find 
what  we  want.  Last  summer  gave  us  a  full 
list  of  the  common  plants;  now  what  we 
want  is  something  rare,  or,  at  least,  what  is 
not  known  to  be  a  native  of  these  regions," 
said  the  doctor. 

"See!  doctor,  what's  this?  I've  never 
seen  a  flower  like  this,"  cried  Tom,  holding 
up  a  small  yellow  flower. 

"Oh,  that's  common  enough,  and  you 
must  have  seen  them  growing  in  gardens ; 
it  belongs  to  the  order  of  orchidaceae  a 
species  of  cypripedium,  the  common  lady 
slipper;  you  know  it,  surely,"  answered  the 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  83 

doctor,  and  so  it  was  with  everything  they 
found.  He  would  tell  them  all  about  it  and 
sa3^,  "quite  common.' ' 

On  the\r  went,  occasionally  resting 
beneath  the  shade  of  some  immense  cotton- 
wood. 

"Make  the  most  of  this  shade,  boys,  for 
when  we  leave  this  we'll  find  no  more  trees 
for  a  while,"  cried  the  doctor,  as  he  threw 
himself  at  full  length  on  the  ground. 

"Oh,  we  surely  will  find  some  trees,"  said 
Tom,  following  his  example. 

"No,  not  a  shrub  large  enough  to  cast  a 
shadow.  We  may  see  a  bit  of  stunted 
juniper  on  some  point  of  bluff,  but  once  on 
the  prairies  we'll  find  no  more  trees  until 
we  get  to  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills,  and  that's 
almost  at  the  end  of  our  trip." 

"Oh  nry  !  what  a  gloom  y  prospect!"  said 
Joe,  who  had  been  searching  about  on  the 
far  side  of  the  tree. 

"Got  another  rare  one,  Joe?"  asked  the 
doctor,  as  Joe  stood  looking  at  a  flower  he 
had  just  picked. 


84  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 


"It's  like  all  the  rest,   I'm   afraid,  quite 


common." 


"Nothing  new  under  the  face  of  the  sun, 
but  let's  see  it,"  and  Dr.  Goon  raised  up 
to  take  the  flower. 

"It's  pretty,  any  way,"  said  Joe. 

"Well!  now,  this  is  something  odd.  Can't 
say  that  I  know  it.  Very  strange!  Leaves 
ovate,  lanceolate,  obscurely  reticulated — 
hum!  Yes,  yes,  column  acutely  two  horned 
at  summit,  spike  secund,  minutely  pubescent 
like  the  Goodycra  repens,  I  should  think. 
Yes,  I'm  right  about  that,  but  the  segments 
of  the  perianth  arc  straight,  lateral  ones 
longer  than  the  flower,  but  that's  like  the 
orchis  spectabilis.  This  is  certainly  very 
queer,  very  queer ;  must  be  a  sport.  This  is 
a  find,  indeed,  quite  a  find,"  as  he  carefully 
handled  the  flower. 

"I'm  glad  we've  got  something  at  last," 
exclaimed  Joe. 

44 Say,  my  boy,  see  if  you  can't  find 
another;  if  not,  get  the  roots  and  any  leaves 
or  branches  that  this  came  from,"  said  the 


THEY  ALL   SAW    AN   INDIAN      *      *      *      SLOWLY    WALKING  TOWARD  THEM. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  87 

doctor,  carefully  pressing  the  flower  in  his 
book. 

Joe  did  as  requested,  and  then  the  party 
returned  to  camp.  Tom  went  to  his  father's 
tent  and  spent  an  hour  with  him  telling  him 
of  his  first  day's  work  in  the  field  of  natural 
history.  Tom  heard  that  his  party  was  to 
have  one  of  the  mounted  scouts  attached 
to  it,  and  of  course  lost  no  time  in  going 
back  and  telling  them  the  news. 

"Yes,"  said  Tom,  "we  are  to  have  a  new 
addition." 

"Who  is  he?"  asked  Joe. 

"  I  don't  know  the  gentleman's  name,  but 
he  is  a  dandy,  and  no  mistake." 

"What  do  you  mean,  without  joking?  " 

"Just  what  I  say.  He  is  not  very  good 
looking,  but  he  is  a  howling  swell;  here  he 
comes  now,  and  I  dare  say  he  wants  to  see 
you,  Pat." 

Pat  looked  up  from  his  work  over  the 
bread  pan,  and  they  all  saw  an  Indian, 
gorgeously  bedecked  in  paint  and  feathers, 
slowly  walking  toward  them.   He  appeared 


88  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

pretty  well  encased  in  a  government  blanket 
with  a  belt  full  of  cartridges  encircling  his 
waist.  From  beneath  the  blanket  appeared 
his  moccasined  feet,  and  above  stretched 
as  villainous  a  looking  countenance  as  ever 
an  Indian  boasted.  He  had  on  an  old  yel- 
low broad  brimmed  hat,  the  top  cut  out  in 
such  a  way  as  to  leave  long  points  hanging 
down  as  an  adornment. 

"Faith  an'  Oi'm  not  goin'  to  cook  fur  any 
sich  durty  divils  ez  that,"  cried  Pat,  as  he 
now  comprehended  that  this  was  to  be  the 
addition  to  his  mess,  of  which  Tom  had 
spoken. 

"Never  mind,  Pat,  he  wont  be  with  us 
always,  and  he  is  to  provide  fresh  meat  for 
us,"  said  Tom. 

"Faith  an'  av  the  rid  blayguard  can  hilp 
us  out  wid  a  bit  av  fresh  mate,  Oi'll  not 
moind  4m, "  returned  Pat,  who  would  sacri- 
fice even  his  love  of  country  to  his  pride  in 
cooking. 

"Ugh!  Muck-a-muck,"  said  the  new- 
comer, walking  up  to  the  cook  in  the  most 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  89 

solemn  manner  and  leaning  his  rifle  against 
the  mess  chest. 

"Phat  do  yer  soi,  ye  bloody  spalpeen?  If 
that  blunderbuss  isloaded3^e  can  take  it  out 
av  this,"  replied  Pat,  but  the  only  reply  of 
the  Indian  was  to  open  his  mouth  as  widely 
as  possible  and  point  with  his  index  finger 
to  its  cavernous  interior. 

"Sure  an'  ye'd  look  better  if  ye'd  go 
an'  wash  yer  face  an'  kape  yer  ugly  mouth 
shut,"  continued  Pat,  quite  seriously. 

"Ugh!  Ot-a  muck-a-muck,"  said  the  scout, 
with  innumerable  gutteral  sounds,  which 
would  have  puzzled  a  phonograph,  and  cer- 
tainly defies  onomatopoeia. 

"Why  don't  }^e  spake  English,  ye  durty 
hay  then,  an'  thin  Oi  could  understand  ye," 
exclaimed  Pat,  not  taking  his  hands  out  of 
the  bread  pan. 

"  Me  heap  speak  um  !  Me  heap  big  Injun  ! 
Me  Chonka-ta-ketchah-ha,"  (pronounced 
Shonkaw-taw-ketchaw-haw,)said  the  scout, 
who  was  most  providentially  prevented 
from   taking  offence  at  Pat's  language  by 


90  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

his  utter  ignorance  of  it.  He  certainly 
believed  in  the  old  adage  concerning  those 
who  help  themselves,  for  he  reached  out  and 
took  a  plate,  knife  and  fork  and  without 
the  superfluity  of  an  invitation  began  to 
fill  his  plate  with  cold  baked  beans  from  a 
pan  that  sat  on  the  table.  He  then  pro- 
ceeded in  the  most  solemn  manner  to  shovel 
them  down  his  throat,  alternately  using  the 
knife  in  his  right,  and  the  fork  in  his  left 
hand. 

"He  has  a  good  appetite,"  remarked  Tom, 
as  the  redman  reached  out  and  helped  him- 
self to  three  slices  of  bread. 

"He'll  never  starve,  if  there's  anything 
arou  nd  to  ea  t , "  said  Joe,  who  noticed  a  can  of 
axle  grease  on  the  ground,  and  without  a 
word  he  placed  it  on  the  table  in  front  of 
the  Indian,  who,  thinking  it  was  some 
white  man's  delicacy,  spread  a  liberal  sup- 
ply of  it  on  his  bread ;  from  the  gusto 
with  which  he  ate  it,  nothing  could  be  said 
against  it  as  a  luxury,  at  least  to  him. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  91 

"Our  mule  driver  will  be  out  of  luck  when 
he  finds  his  can  empty,"  gasped  Tom,  stuffing 
his  handkerchief  in  his  mouth  to  keep  from 
laughing. 

"He'll  have  to  settle  it  with  him," 
answered  Joe,  giggling  in  spite  of  his  deter- 
mined attempt  to  keep  a  straight  face. 

"If  he  isn't  dead  by  morning  I'll  give  up," 
whispered  Tom. 

"I  don't  think  there  is  anything  in  it  to 
hurt  him," replied  Joe. 

"You  go  with  us,  do  you?"  asked  Tom, 
when  this  new  addition  had  satiated  him- 
self, and  was  giving  vent  to  grunts  of  satis- 
faction, as  he  loosened  his  belt  to  the  last 
hole. 

"No  sabe,"  grunted  the  Indian. 

"  Can-you-speak-English?  "repeated Tom, 
speaking  very  slowly  and  in  as  gruff  a  voice 
as  his  age  would  allow. 

"Heap  speak  um  !  " 

"  How-soon-we-find-buffalo  ?  " 

"No  sabe." 

"  You  sabe— buffalo  ?  Buf-fa-lo !  " 


92  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Ya-as." 

"You  understand  everything  I  say?" 

"Ya-as!" 

"How  soon  do  we  find  buffalo ?  " 

"Ya-as!" 

"Don't  you  think  you  are  an  old  fraud  ?  " 
added  Tom,  disgusted  with  the  redman's 
stupidity. 

"Ya-as,  "replied  the  Indian,  as  solemnly  as 
ever.  Picking  up  his  rifle  and  hiding  it  in 
the  mysterious  folds  of  his  blanket  he  slid 
out  from  among  them,  his  broad  back  bear- 
ing the  big  letters  id  on  the  blanket  that 
covered  it. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

A  few  mornings  after  they  had  left  the 
Missouri,  Tom  was  awakened  before  day- 
light by  the  plaintive  notes  of  the  cavalry 
bugle  sounding  "boots  and  saddles,"  which 
was  soon  followed  by  the  cooks  of  all  par- 
ties shouting,  "roll  out,  roll  out!  "  It  was 
a  breakfast  by  candle-light  that  morning, 
and  then  a  long  day's  journej^  before  they 
came  into  camp  again. 

"What  creek  is  this?"  asked  Joe,  as  he 
took  a  bucket  down  to  get  some  water. 

"This  is  Poplar  river,"  replied  Tom. 

"You  don't  think  this  thing  can  be  Poplar 
river?  " 

"That's  what  the  wagon-boss  told  me. 
They  say  a  stream  you  can't  jump  over  in 
this  country  is  called  a  river." 

"Don't  say  wagon-boss,  it  sounds  so 
slangy." 

93 


94  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"That's  what  all  the  mule  whackers 
call  him,  and  if  a  fellow  picks  his  words 
here  they  will  think  him  a  pilgrim  forever," 
said  Tom,  with  a  show  of  braggadocio. 
Joe  was  a  boy  who  had  more  mischief  in 
him  naturally  than  Tom  could  conjure  up  in 
his  brain,  yet  he  was  always  studious^ 
careful  in  his  language. 

"But  you  are  not  one  of  them,  and  it 
sounds  just  as  well  to  sa3r  mule-driver." 

"Oh!    Don't  preach!" 

"I  don't  mean  to,  but  if  to  use  gentle- 
manty  language  is  to  be  considered  a 
pilgrim,  let  them  think  }rou  one." 

"All  right,  Joe,  if  3tou  ever  make  a  slip  of 
the  tongue,  I'll  lecture  you  for  an  hour." 

"You  ma}^;  it  would  do  me  no  harm,  I 
dare  say.  I  noticed  your  father,  the  other 
daj%  talking  about  mule-drivers  to  the 
wagon-master,  and  he  did  not  say 
*  whackers'  nor  'skinners,'  and  no  one 
thinks  he  is  a  pilgrim,"  said  Joe,  as  he 
dipped  up  a  bucketful  of  water  and  Tom, 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  95 

taking  hold  of  the  other  side  of  it,  helped  to 
carry  it  up  to  the  cook. 

They  were  three  or  four  da^-s  in  reaching 
the  line,  as  the  forty-ninth  parallel  was  called 
by  them.  They  found  the  monument  where 
the  work  was  discontinued  the  3^ear  before, 
and  here  the  command  divided  up,  each 
going  about  its  own  special  work.  The 
escort  of  infantry  was  divided  among  the 
three  engineer  parties,  but  he  cavalry  went 
with  the  astronomical  division,  which  was 
always  to  be  in  advance  of  the  others. 
Each  small  party  had  one  Indian  scout,  who 
was  to  act  as  hunter  and  messenger. 

''What's  going  to  be  done  to-morrow, 
have  you  heard,  Tom?  "  asked  Joe. 

"The  astronomical  party  goes  west 
twenty  miles  to  establish  a  line  point." 

"I  wonder  if  we  go  with  them." 

"I  don't  know,  but  I  heard  that  this  is 
the  last  time  that  the  whole  party  will  be 
together  until  fall." 

"I  expect  we  will  meet  different  parties 
every  once  in  a  while." 


96  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"I  don't  much  think  so,  for  if  the  doctor's 
party  goes  with  father  we  will  be  in  advance 
all  the  time." 

"  Where  do  the  mound  builders  come  in?" 

"They  follow  after  the  line  party  and  put 
up  the  mounds." 

Dr.  Goon's  party  went  with  Major  Trox- 
well's  on  the  following  day.  They  finished 
their  twenty-mile  stretch  by  noon  and 
encamped  at  a  fine  spring,  which  came  out 
of  a  bank  of  earth  not  far  from  a  large 
swamp.  The  water  probably  came  from 
the  swamp,  but  coming  through  the  earth 
it  was  well  filtered  and  cold. 

"I'm  going  to  try  to  get  one  of  those 
antelopes  we  saw  yesterday,"  said  Tom, 
who  sat  on  the  edge  of  his  bed,  polishing  his 
rifle.  The  government  had  furnished  all  the 
civilians  with  Sharpe's  rifles  and  ammuni- 
tion. 

"I  think  we  could  get  one  just  as  well  as 
not,"  replied  Joe. 

"Will  you  go,  if  the  doctor  will  let  us?  " 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  97 

"Yes,  I  don't  think  he  has  anything  for 
us  to  do  to-day,  but  you  had  better  ask 
him ;  he  is  in  his  tent  now  with  Hugill,  and 
they  are  looking  over  some  big  books 
together,"  said  Joe,  and  Tom  laid  down  his 
rifle  and  went  to  the  doctor's  tent;  return- 
ing in  a  few  moments,  he  announced: 

4 'All  right,  we  can  go." 

"  What  did  he  say  about  it?  " 

"Oh,  nothing  but  'go  ahead  and  don't 
shoot  yourselves.' " 

"Then  we'll  try  to  gQt  some  antelope 
meat,"  replied  Joe,  and  the  boys  shouldered 
their  rifles,  which  were  very  much  like  the 
needle  guns  the  soldiers  carried,  only  that 
thejr  were  a  little  shorter  in  the  barrels. 
They  were  on  a  rolling  prairie,  the  surface 
of  the  ground  being  full  of  shallow  ravines 
cutting  the  prairie  in  all  directions,  and 
which  in  that  country  are  called  coulees. 
The  boys  had  not  gone  more  than  a  mile 
from  camp  when  Joe,  who  was  a  little  in 
advance,  exclaimed: 


98  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Crouch  down,  Tom,  there's  a  lot  of  ante- 
lopes just  beyond  us."  Tom  dropped  down 
on  his  hands  and  knees,  and  crawled  up  to 
where  Joe  was  crouching  down  in  the  grass, 
then  whispered : 

"Where  are  they  ?  ' ' 

"Right  ahead  of  us,  about  three  hundred 
yards ;  we  had  best  crawl  along  here  in  the 
grass  until  we  think  we  are  within  one  hun- 
dred yards  of  them,  and  then  we  can  rise 
up  and  let  them  have  it,"  said  Joe,  in  a 
whisper. 

They  both  crawled  along  as  stealthily  as  a 
couple  of  coyotes  for  about  fifteen  minutes, 
when  Tom  whispered : 

"  I  think  we  must  be  right  on  top  of  them  ; 
let's  stand  up  an'  pump  the  lead  into  'em." 

Raising  the  hammers  of  their  guns  and 
having  everything  ready  to  take  aim  they 
sprang  to  their  feet  simultaneously,  but 
neither  of  them  put  his  gun  to  his  shoul- 
der because  the  antelopes  stood  on  a 
rise  of    ground  about  half  a    mile    away 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  99 

from  them,  calmly  staring  at  these  strange 
bipeds  encroaching  on  their  feeding  grounds. 

"Well,  I  declare!  I  thought  you  said  we 
were  within  three  hundred  yards  of  them," 
said  Tom. 

"And  so  we  were,  but  they  must  have 
scented  us;  they  see  us  now  so  plainly,  that 
there  is  no  use  trying  to  crawl  upon  them," 
replied  Joe,  as  one  of  the  handsome  animals 
here  raised  his  striped  throat,  and  sniffed 
the  danger  in  the  air.  He  was  an  old  buck 
and  a  beautiful  specimen.  Again  he 
elevated  his  delicate  nose  two  or  three 
times,  and  trotted  around  the  half  dozen 
timid  does  that  stood  looking  as  if  their 
lord  and  master  were  needlessl\r  alarmed, 
for  surely  those  queer-looking  strangers 
could  not  hurt  them. 

"It  did  not  take  them  long  to  get  over 
there.  Do  you  know,  I've  read  that  the}' 
can  be  attracted  by  any  curious  thing  like  a 
flag  waving,"  said  Tom,  looking  longingly 
at  the  game  safe  beyond  his  bullets. 


100  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"  Yes,  I  remember  in  'The  Boy  Hunters  of 
South  America,'  I  read  that  the  bo}rs  used 
to  stand  on  their  heads,  which  unusual 
sight  would  bring  the  game  close  enough  to 
be  shot,  but  I  don't  believe  it,  all  the 
same." 

"We  might  try  it.  I've  a  large  white 
handkerchief  in  my  pocket  that  will  do,  and 
we  can  put  it  on  a  ram  rod  and  soon  have 
a  flag  flying,"  said  Tom;  taking  the  jointed 
ram  rod  out  of  the  butt  of  his  gun,  and 
screwing  the  pieces  together  he  soon  had 
his  small  flag  flying  signals  of  anything  but 
peace.  They  lay  down  in  the  grass  beneath 
the  flag,  which  certainly  had  some  effect  on 
the  antelopes  for  they  looked  much  more 
eagerly  in  their  direction,  and  showed  all 
the  signs  of  curiosity. 

"They  are  feeding  this  way  now,"  said 
Joe,  who  had  cautious^  raised  his  head. 

"I  don't  think  they  will  mind  seeing  us 
now  their  attention  is  all  taken  with  the 
flag." 


"ugh!     how!     how!' 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  103 

"Don't  show  too  much  of  yourself  to 
them." 

"I  want  to  have  a  look  at  them  through 
my  field  glass." 

"That  will  make  them  look  close  enough 
to  shoot  at,"  laughed  Joe. 

The  antelopes  came  cautiously  toward 
them,  evidently  attracted  by  the  flag,  3^et 
they  were  much  too  distant  to  shoot  at.  So 
intent  upon  the  quarry  in  front  of  them 
were  the  boys,  that  they  failed  to  hear 
the  light  footfalls  of  a  horse  coming 
from  behind,  until,  hearing  a  deep  gut- 
teral  "Ugh !  How !  How !  "  the\-  sprang  to 
their  feet,  much  surprised  to  see  the  stoical 
features  of  their  Indian  scout.  This  gentle- 
man sat  upon  a  pinto  kiyus  and  a  long 
lariat  trailed  upon  the  ground  behind  him. 
His  rifle  rested  across  the  pommel  of  his 
saddle,  while  behind  him  was  tied  the  car- 
cass of  an  antelope.  He  appeared  oblivious 
to  the  fact  that  the  boj- s  had  been  trying  to 
decoy  the  game  that    now  scampered   off 


104  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

across  the  prairie,  showing  their  white 
rumps  like  the  sails  of  so  many  miniature 
boats. 

"Aha!  You've  got  one,"  exclaimed  both 
of  the  boys  together,  and  the  Indian  smiled 
complacently  as  he  responded : 

"Tush." 

"Shot  him  through  the  head,"  remarked 
Tom,  touching  the  ugly  wound  with  his 
finger. 

"Tush." 

"That  word  must  mean  'yes/  "  said  Tom 
to  Joe,  in  an  undertone. 

"I  expect  so.  I  wonder  what  tribe  this 
fellow  belongs  to,"  replied  Joe,  and  as  the 
scout  appeared  to  be  in  rather  a  good- 
natured  mood,  Tom  looked  very  wise  and 
pointed  at  him,  sajang  interrogatively: 

"Sioux?" 

The  Indian  shook  a  negative  with  his 

ugly  head.    He  then  raised  his  right  hand, 

the  palm  extended  upward  as  a  man  might 

raise  some  water ;  bringing  it  to  his  lips  he 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  105 

threw  his  head  backward  as  if  drinking;  he 
then  placed  a  hand  at  each  side  of  his  head 
and  flapped  them  both  slowly. 

"Oh!  I  know  that  sign;  father  has  told 
me  the  tribal  signs  of  lots  of  different  bands 
of  Indians.    You're  a  River  Crow  ?  " 

"  Tush,"  assented  the  Indian,  smiling  what 
might  have  been  considered  among  his  own 
people  a  pleasant  smile,  but  which  to  the 
bo3'S  looked  like  a  ghastly  grin. 

"That  word  'tush' means  'yes,'  you  see, 
and  he  is  a  River  Crow." 

"Tush,  fodder  Sioux  (here  the  Indian  drew 
his  finger  across  his  throat,  making  the  sign 
of  that  tribe),  muclder  (and  again  his  first 
pantomimic  performance) ;  Sioux  —  seeche  — 
me  no  Sioux,"  said  the  Indian. 

"He  has  renounced  his  father's  people  for 
some  reason  and  claims  to  be  a  River  Crow  ; 
they  are  always  friendly,  father  says," 
interpreted  Tom,  quite  grandly. 

"I  think  that  word,  'seeche,'  must  mean 
bad;  ask   him,   Tom,"  said  Joe,   who,   see- 


106  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

ing  that  Tom  was  doing  so  well  as 
interpreter,  did  not  like  to  interfere  himself. 

"  Sioux  bad, — Sioux  se-chee?  "  asked  Tom, 
most  grandiloquently. 

"Tush!  tush!  Sioux  see-chee-nepo-otah- 
wasechee,  nepo  otah  ekeechetah." 

"I  suppose  you  understand  all  that," said 
Joe,  laughing. 

"He's  coming  a  little  too  fast  for  me 
now;  look  where  the  antelope's  horn  has 
dug  a  hole  in  his  pony's  flank,"  cried  Tom, 
pulling  the  beautiful  head  of  the  animal 
around,  which  calamit}^  being  seen  by  the 
Indian  put  him  in  a  frenzy.  He  jumped  off 
and  untying  the  carcass  let  it  fall  to  the 
ground.  He  then  took  a  couple  of  turns 
around  the  antelope's  head  with  his  lariat, 
and,  tying  it  to  the  pommel  of  his  saddle, 
dug  his  moccasined  heels  into  the  flanks  of 
his  kiyus,  and  galloped  off  over  the  prairie 
dragging  his  game  on  the  ground  as  if  it 
were  a  bundle  of  old  rags.  The  condition  of 
the  meat  on  reaching  the  cook's  tent  need 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  107 

not  be  described.  There  was  no  hair  left  on 
the  carcass,  and  the  meat  looked  blue 
through  the  skin.  When  the  boys  reached 
camp  they  found  everybody  in  a  fever  of 
excitement.  All  were  getting  out  their  rifles 
and  buckling  on  their  cartridge  belts. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

"  I  wonder  what's  the  matter,"  said  Tom. 

"I  don't  know  ;  the  cavalry  are  all  drawn 
up  in  line  over  there,"  replied  Joe,  as  the\- 
came  into  camp. 

" Hello,  Pat,  what's  the  matter?" 

" Faith,  an'  they  soi  there's  a  million  rid 
divils,  comin'  ter  take  the  scalps  av  us,  but, 
begorrah,  Oi'll  scald  ivery  muther's  son  av 
thim  afore  they  git  moin." 

"  Injuns  on  the  warpath,  bo3's;  this 
beastly  government's  going  to  catch  it  now, 
ye  know,  not  a  man  left  to  tell  the  bloods' 
tale.  You've  abused  the  poor  redman  until 
he  is  going  to  turn!"  roared  Hugill,  danc- 
ing about  on  his  long  legs,  and  whirling  his 
carbine  around  his  head. 

"What  is  it,  Mr.  Hugill?  What  is  it  all 
about?  Are  there  really  any  hostile  Indians 
coming?  "  asked  Tom,  not  looking  quite  so 

108 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  109 

belligerent  as  when  he  had  talked  of  taking 
scalps  a  few  days  before. 

"Hostile  Indians?  The  cavalrymen  say 
the  prairie  is  black  with  them,  ye  know; 
they  estimate  that  there  are  not  less  than  a 
thousand  of  them.  We  are  to  have  a  little 
fun  and  no  mistake,  ye  know." 

"  Whereabouts  are  they  all  ?  " 

"About  three  miles  from  here." 

"Do  they  know  we  are  here?  " 

"Well,  I  should  say,  so;  ye  know  there 
was  a  company  sent  out  this  morning  to 
reconnoiter,  and  after  a  while  the}^  ran  into 
a  camp  of  a  couple  of  hundred  lodges !  " 

"Did  they  have  any  fight  with  them ?  " 

"No!  The  blood}?-  cowards  turned  and 
scampered  back  home,  ye  know  !  " 

"It's  lucky  they  had  sense  enough  not  to 
shoot  at  them  ;  they  may  prove  to  be  peace- 
able Indians,"  said  Tom,  hoping  sincerely 
that  they  would. 

"We'll  soon  find  out;  they  have  sent  the 
scouts  out  to  have  a  look  at  them.  The 
poor  brutes  are  awfully  frightened ;  they  are 


110  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

afraid  they  may  be  some  of  the  Sioux  that 
Custer  has  run  out  of  the  Black  Hills,  ye 
know." 

"I  hope  they  are  not;  they  may  be  River 
Crows." 

"Oh,  no  fear  of  that;  they  will  turn  out 
to  be  Sioux,  ye  know,"  said  Hugill,and  here 
the  attention  of  all  was  directed  to  the 
scouts  riding  back  as  fast  as  their  ponies 
could  carry  them. 

"Sioux!  Sioux!  Sioux!"  the}'  yelled,  as 
they  came  dashing  through  the  line  of  cav- 
alry. 

This  added  to  the  general  excitement,  and 
the  scouts  had  hardly  had  time  to  make 
their  reports,  when  Indians  were  seen  com- 
ing up  from  all  directions,  but  as  soon  as 
they  came  within  half  a  mile,  they  stopped 
and  appeared  to  take  counsel  among  them- 
selves. 

"There's  an  awful  lot  of  them,"  said  Joe, 
looking  at  them  through  Tom's  field 
glass. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  Ill 

"  Yes,  but  I  don't  think  there's  any  dan- 
ger, do  you?  "  asked  Tom. 

"No,  we're  enough  for  them." 

"I  wonder  what  that  fellow  means  riding 
around  in  a  circle  that  way." 

"I  don't  know;  there  goes  my  father; 
let's  go  over  and  ask  him  if  he  thinks  there's 
going  to  be  a  fight." 

"All  right,  if  we  can  get  with  him  we'll 
have  a  chance  to  find  out  all  about  it," 
assented  Joe,  as  he  followed  after  Tom  to 
overtake  Major  Tr  ox  well. 

"Hello,  boys,  you're  not  frightened,  I 
hope?" 

"No,  sir,  not  at  all,  but  then — you  see — 
we  wanted  to  know — if  there  was  any  dan- 
ger," said  Tom,  and  although  he  was  pos- 
sessed of  as  much  courage  as  is  found  in 
most  boys,  yet  he  could  not  suppress  a 
slight  quaver  in  his  voice.  Joe  did  not  say 
anything,  but  there  was  an  ugly  frown  upon 
his  face  and  a  look  of  determination  about 
him  that  portended  no  good  to  the  Indian 
that  molested  him. 


112  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Well,  there's  no  danger  at  all,  bo}'s; 
we've  sent  a  scout  back  after  some  of  the 
infantry  to  come  in  wagons,  and  we've 
cavalry  enough  here  to  hold  this  mob 
at  bay  for  awhile." 

"What  is  that  Indian  riding  around  in  a 
circle  for?  " 

"I  don't  know;  you  boj'S  come  over  with 
me  to  where  those  officers  are,  and  we'll 
find  out,"  replied  the  major,  and  when  they 
had  joined  these  the  major  said  to  the  half- 
breed  interpreter: 

"Well,  Marcello  what  does  that  fellow 
mean  riding  around  in  a  circle  so  many 
times?" 

"He  means  that  some  of  them  want  to 
come  and  have  a  big  talk  with  us," 
answered  the  half-breed,  grinning. 

"Oh,  that's  it,  and  here  the  deputation 
comes,"  said  the  major,  as  he  held  his  field 
glass  to  his  eyes. 

The  cavalry  were  drawn  up  in  regular  line 
of  battle  and  the  civilians  were  told  to  keep 
inside  the  circle  of  wagons  under  which  had 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  113 

been  piled  all  the  harness,  chains  and  com- 
missary supplies  as  fortifications.  About 
ten  or  a  dozen  Indians  came  riding  up, 
gaudy  in  their  gay  trappings,  red  paint,  and 
flying  feathers.  There  was  a  general  chorus 
of  "How!  How!  How!"  and  then  they 
had  to  shake  hands  with  the  officers. 

They  were  making  pantomimic  gestures 
of  friendship,  but  every  one  of  those  tall, 
grand  warriors,  representatives  of  that 
fast-fading  race,  had  an  expression  of  undy- 
ing hatred  plainly  discernible  on  his  face. 
They  shook  hands  with  all,  including  Tom 
and  Joe.  This  performance  was  about  con- 
cluded when  the  very  last  Indian,  a  great, 
gaunt,  ugly  specimen,  shook  Tom's  hand, 
and  took  umbrage  at  the  fact  that  he  had  a 
glove  on.  He  grasped  Tom's  hand  and 
pulled  the  glove  off,  spat  upon  it,  threw  it 
on  the  ground,  and  ground  his  heel  down 
upon  it,  saying: 

"Tush,  wa-seeche  washita." 
Poor  Tom  was  thunderstruck,  and  knew 
not  what  to  do  or  say,   but  a  voice  from 

8 


114  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

behind  saying,  "Good  enough  for  you,  you 
young  fool,  he'll  teach  you  manners,"  told 
Tom  that  Hugill  had  been  a  witness  to  his 
mortification,  and  on  looking  around  he 
saw  that  ubiquitous  individual  perched  on 
the  top  bows  of  a  canvas-covered  wagon, 
his  long  legs  dangling  down  below  and  his 
luxuriant  side  whiskers  floating  in  the 
breeze.  The  Indians  commenced  a  general 
chattering  among  themselves,  casting 
covert  glances  at  Hugill ;  then  a  tall  Indian 
stepped  out  and  made  a  speech  which  the 
interpreter  Marcello  quoted  as  follows: 

"The  whites  are  not  going  to  oppress  us 
further.  The  great  long-haired  white  brave 
has  burnt  the  prairies  of  the  Black  Hills. 
The  poor  red  man  has  come  a  long  way  to 
find  some  buffalo,  to  put  away  for  the  next 
snow — " 

Here  he  was  interrupted  by  Hugill  who 
shouted  from  his  perch  of  vantage: 

"Louder !     We  cawn't  hear,  ye  know !  " 

"Mr.  Hugill,  please  don't  interrupt 
again,"  said  Major  Troxwell,  and  again  the 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  115 

Indian  spoke  in  his  own  language,  being 
interrupted  by  Marcello : 

"We  are  not  going  to  allow  you  to  pass. 
I  am  Lone  Wolf,  chief  of  the  Yanktonee 
Sioux,  and  I  have  said  it.  You  cannot  pass. 
We  know  that  our  great-grandmother 
across  the  water,  and  our  great-grandfather 
in  Washington  have  put  their  heads 
together,  and  are  going  to  lay  an  iron  trail 
along  here  to  carry  off  our  buffalo,  and  we 
are  not  going  to  let  you  pass ;  you  whites 
are  all  dogs,  and  sons  of  dogs.  Lone  Wolf 
has  spoken." 

There  were  many  gutteral  grunts  of  sat- 
isfaction among  the  chiefs  after  these  words, 
but  Hugill  again  attracted  the  attention  of 
all  b}'  shouting  from  his  wagon  top : 

"Who  are  you  calling  a  dog?  You're  a 
cad,  and  if  3^011  will  step  out  with  me  I'll 
punch  3'our  bloody  head,  blawst  3'our 
beastly  e3res !  " 

"Come!  Come!  Hugill  if  jon  cannot 
refrain  from  interfering,  you  had  best  come 
down,"  said  Major  Troxwell,  angrily. 


116  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

This  chief  was  followed  by  speeches  from 
the  others  to  the  same  purport,  each  taking 
particular  pains  to  state  that  he  was  a  big 
brave,  great  chief,  and  a  wonderful  fellow 
altogether.  The  cavalrj^  officers  and  Major 
Troxwell  talked  the  situation  over,  and 
they  concluded  that,  as  Major  Troxwell 
was  chief  in  command,  it  were  better  that 
he  should  address  them  and  explain  their 
intentions  in  a  manner  to  suit  the  occasion, 
and  appease  their  minds  on  the  railroad 
question.  The  major,  stepping  out  into  the 
open  circle,  said : 

"Come,  Marcello,  you  must  try  to  do  me 
justice.     Tell  them — " 

Here  he  was  interrupted  by  several  of  the 
Indians  stepping  forward  and  pointing  up 
toward  Hugill.  They  all  spoke  together 
and  excitedly.  It  was  apparent  to  all  it 
was  about  Hugill  they  were  talking,  but 
what  they  said,  of  course,  was  not  under- 
stood, until  Marcello  said: 

"Thejr  say  they  want  the  big  chief  with 
the  two  scalps  on  his  face  to  speak  first." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  117 

This  of  course  caused  ever}-  one  to  roar 
with  laughter,  and  it  took  considerable 
explanation  on  Marcello's  part  to  convince 
the  Indians  that  Hugill  was  not  a  big  chief 
at  all. 

"Tell  them  that  I  consider  them  all  our 
friends  and  brothers." 

"  Please  leave  me  out  of  that  categor\r, 
major,  if  you  will,  as  notwithstanding  the 
great  esteem  in  which  I  hold  any  friends  of 
yours,  I  could  not,  in  honor  to  my  feelings, 
ye  know,"  said  Hugill,  but  he  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  major,  who  said  in  a  voice  of 
thunder: 

"This  is  the  last  time,  Mr.  Hugill.  You 
may  consider  yourself  under  arrest.  Get 
down  from  that  wagon  and  go  to  your 
tent!"  and  Hugill  climbed  down, muttering 
imprecations  upon  Yankee  officers  imposing 
upon  English  gentlemen,  while  the  major 
continued: 

"Yes,  they  are  our  brothers,  and  their 
great-grandfather  in  Washington  thinks  so 
much  of  them  that  he  has  compelled  their 


118  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

great-grandmother  across  the  big  water  to 
come  here,  and  mark  a  line  so  that  the 
Indians  belonging  be\rond  the  line  cannot 
come  below  it  and  kill  their  buffalo.  We 
are  here  to  mark  this  line  with  mounds  of 
rock,  and  when  we  have  done  this  we  go 
home,  and  no  iron  shall  be  laid  down  here." 

This  was  received  with  grunts  of  approval 
and  one  immense  chief  who  had  several 
scalps  dangling  at  his  belt  came  forth  from 
the  group  of  silent  braves,  and  with  his 
knife  commenced  drawing  something  on  the 
dusty  ground. 

"Look  at  those  scalps  he's  got  there, 
Tom,"  whispered  Joe,  whose  blood  boiled  at 
the  sight. 

"Yes,  and  one  of  them  looks  like  the  hair 
of  a  woman,"  said  Tom,  in  an  undertone. 

"  What  is  that  fellow  doing  ?  " 

"I  don't  know.  It  looks  as  if  he  were 
drawing  a  map  ;  no,  it  is  the  American  flag; 
he  is  drawing  another,  wait  a  minute — yes— 
that  is  the  British  flag,  now." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  119 

"  That's  what  the3r  are,  and  well  drawn 
too  ;  the  fellow  is  quite  an  artist.  What's 
he  doing  now?"  asked  Joe,  who  hardly 
understood  the  sentiment  intended  to  be 
expressed  by  the  Indian,  for  he  stooped 
down  and  pretended  to  pick  up  the  Ameri- 
can flag  and  then  waved  the  imaginary 
banner  over  his  head. 

"  Three  cheers !  "  shouted  a  sergeant,  who 
stood  holding  his  horse  between  the  chief 
actors  in  this  scene  and  his  company. 

"Hip!  Hurrah!  Hurrah!  Hurrah!"  rang 
out  hundreds  of  voices,  and  the  gratified 
Indian  then  jumped  upon  the  British  emblem 
and  obliterated  it  in  the  dust. 

"Major  Troxwell,  if  you  will  let  me  punch 
that  villain's  beastly  head  3^ou  may  put  me 
in  irons,"  said  Hugill,  having  again  come 
to  the  front,  forgetful  of  the  major's  orders. 

"Mr.  Hugill,  you  are  not  here  to  uphold 
the  English  principles  and  you  must  stay  in 
y our  tent!  Remember,  }^ou  are  under 
arrest !  "  said  the  major,  sternly. 


120  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Under  arrest!  I'm  an  example  of  the 
fact  that  worth  is  seldom  recognized  and 
virtue  rarely  rewarded.  Under  arrest!  It's 
a  beastly  shame,  3^e  know!  Great  Caesar's 
ghost!  What  would  my  aunt,  the  Lad}^ 
Frances  Hugill,  say  now?  "  growled  Hugill, 
as  he  slowly  went  back  to  his  tent. 

This  exhibition  of  loyalty  and  good  will 
on  the  part  of  the  Indians  was  followed  bj' 
more  speeches  from  their  chiefs  given  in  the 
most  grandiloquent  styles  and  it  was  uncer- 
tain whether  the  major  was  not  about  to 
invite  the  chiefs  to  dine  with  him,  when  at 
this  point  in  the  conference  fifty  or  more 
Indians  came  galloping  from  the  main  body 
to  within  long  rifle  range  of  them  and 
there  set  up  a  yelling  that  sounded  much 
like  the  chorus  of  a  pack  of  hungr\-  co\-otes. 

"What's  the  matter  with  those  fellows, 
I'd  like  to  know?  "  asked  Tom. 

"They  are  getting  impatient,  and  want 
to  find  out  what's  going  on,"  answered  Joe, 
laughing.  Then  to  the  surprise  of  all,  the 
dusky    commissioners    sprang    upon    their 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  121 

kiyuses  and  took  the  most  unceremonious 
leave  imaginable.  Away  they  rode  thump- 
ing the  flanks  of  their  ponies  with  their 
heels,  and  pounding  them  over  the  backs 
with  their  quirts;  away  like  the  wind,  a 
cloud  of  blinding  dust  thrown  up  behind 
tliem,  almost  obscuring  them  from  view. 

All  the  time  that  they  had  been  partici- 
pating in  this  conference  no  one  had  seen 
any  signs  of  weapons  about  the  Indians,  as 
the}-  had  been  closely  wrapped  in  their 
blankets,  but  when  they  went  flying  off  in 
such  a  mad  haste  the}'  threw  their  blankets 
to  one  side  waving  them  in  the  air  with  one 
hand  while  in  the  other  each  was  seen  to 
carry  his  rifle. 

"What  in  the  world  made  them  skip  like 
that?"  asked  Tom. 

"It  must  have  been  from  something  those 
other  fellows  were  3^elling,"  replied  Joe. 

"There  they  all  go  off  together  to  join 
that  big  crowd." 

"  What  a  lot  of  them  there  are!  I'd  hate 
to  be  caught  out  b}^  that  gang." 


122  marking  The  boundary. 

"I  think  I'll  have  my  hair  cut  close  to  my 
head." 

"That  would  be  a  good  idea.  What's  all 
that  yelling  from  them  now?  " 

"They  thought  that  perhaps  the  cavalry 
might  give  them  a  voile}'  and  a  chase,  and 
then  the}'  would  have  turned  and  had  a 
reserve  fire,"  remarked  an  old  frontiersman 
belonging  to  the  major's  party. 

"But  they  know  too  much  for  that. 
Look!  They  are  dividing  up  into  small 
squads  and  are  coming  about  us  in  all  direc- 
tions," cried  Joe,  pointing  to  the  west. 

Such  was  indeed  the  case,  and  it  became  a 
serious  question,  if  these  Indians  were  to 
make  am'  determined  attack,  whether  the 
small  party  with  its  escort  of  cavalry 
would  be  able  to  cope  with  them.  The 
wagons  had  been  changed  from  their  first 
position  to  help  as  a  defense  from  stray  bul- 
lets, being  now  in  a  circle  about  the  tents. 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  hostile 
intentions  of  the  Indians  now,  for  one  small 
squad,  a  little  more  bold  than  the  rest,  had 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY  123 

ridden  within  long  rifle  range  and  given  the 
camp  a  volley.  This  was  not  effective  and 
again  they  came  nearer,  riding  round  and 
round  the  camp ;  but  as  yet  the  cavalry  had 
made  no  demonstration.  The  Indians  were 
now  scattered  about  singly  in  all  directions, 
riding  still  nearer  to  show  their  bravery  and 
contemptforthe  whites,  but  they  took  good 
care  to  keep  their  persons  on  the  far  side  of 
their  ponies. 

All  this  maneuvering  had  been  silently 
witnessed  b\^  the  whites,  but  as  yet  they  had 
not  fired  a  shot.  A  great  waste  of  endeavor 
on  the  part  of  the  Indians  and  what  would 
they  do  next  ?  Orders  had  been  given  to  all 
not  to  fire,  and  Joe  and  Tom  were  panting 
under  this  restraint. 

44 1  think  I  shall  know  that  villain  that 
pulled  off  my  glove,  and  I'm  going  to  do 
my  best  to  teach  him  a  lesson,  this  time," 
muttered  Tom,  who  had  not  ceased  chafing 
from  the  insult. 

"What  are  they  going  to  do  now?  See! 
See !     Here  they  come  in  regular  line  of  bat- 


124  Marking  the  boundary. 

tie!"  exclaimed  Joe,  and  so  they  did,  but 
it  was  not  in  an  Indian's  nature  to  make 
any  fair  and  bold  charge  upon  an  enem}'. 
It  was  plain  to  all  that  the}-  were  up  to 
some  mischief. 

44  The  cavalry  are  getting  ready.  They 
are  going  to  make  a  charge  on  those  fel- 
lows," cried  Tom,  as  an  officer  was  seen  to 
give  some  orders. 

"That's  Major  Reno,  over  there,  he's  in 
command  of  all,  and  I'm  glad  he's  here  him 
self;  they  say  he's  a  great  Indian  fighter!  " 

And  now  a  bugle  sounded  and  the  cavalrj^- 
mcn  all  in  the  same  instant  swung  them- 
selves into  the  saddle. 

"I  hope  they  wall  not  be  drawn  into  a 
trap." 

"No  fear.  Reno  has  seen  lots  of  service. 
They  say  he  rose  from  the  ranks,  and  if 
that's  so  he  must  know  what  he's  about." 

"That  looks  like  smoke,  or  is  it  only  dust 
beyond  the  Indians  there?  "  said  Tom. 

What  the  boys  had  just  discovered  had 
been  already   observed  by  the  eagle  eye  of 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  125 

Reno.  Another  note  from  the  bugle  and 
away  dashed  the  cavalry.  Away  and 
together,  on  horses  trained  to  jump  at  the 
bugle's  blast!  What  a  gallant  sight!  An 
even  line  of  bluecoats  over  the  shining  backs 
of  well  fed  and  fiery  steeds,  tearing  up  and 
scattering  the  sod  and  dust  with  their  heels 
as  they  flew  straight  at  the  mass  of  the 
enemy.  The  wind  was  blowing  direct  from 
the  Indians  to  the  camp,  and  the  red  fiends 
had  fired  the  long  grass  bej^ond  where  they 
had  been  enmassed,  so  that  it  would  get 
good  headway  before  it  would  be  noticed. 

On  dashed  the  cavalry,  faster  and 
faster.  Reno  was  determined,  if  possible, 
to  give  them  a  bit  of  punishment  where 
the}'  stood  and  put  out  the  fire  at  the  same 
time.  But  the  Indians  did  not  relish  any 
such  idea,  and  without  waiting  for  the  cav- 
alry to  get  within  decent  range,  they  fired  a 
scattering  volley  and  then  fled  in  all  direc- 
tions. The  fire  was  put  out  without 
trouble  and  the  cavalry  were  resting  to 
allow  their  horses  to    regain    their   wind. 


126  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

Reno  did  not  care  to  pursue  with  his  hand- 
ful of  men  as  he  had  the  welfare  of  the  camp 
in  his  charge.  As  yet  the  cavalry  had  not 
discharged  a  carbine. 

All  had  been  watching  the  charge  of  the 
cavalry,  and  the  rear  of  the  camp  had  been 
forgotten  until  a  rattling  discharge  of  fire- 
arms and  the  whistling  of  bullets  from  that 
quarter  called  th.m  to  turn  their  heads. 
The  mules  had  been  corraled  between  the 
circle  of  wagons,  and  were  now  greatly  ter- 
rified as  several  had  been  struck  by  this 
volley. 

"This  way!"  shouted  the  major,  but 
before  he  had  called,  the  single  report  of  a 
rifle  rang  out  from  one  of  the  wagons  in  the 
rear. 

"I've  hit  one!  I've  hit  one  of 'em  !  Look! 
quick  !  I've  downed  his  horse  too !  "  shouted 
Joe,  for  it  was  he,  who  of  all  the  crowd  had 
taken  the  thought  of  an  attack  in  the  rear 
into  his  head.  Joe  had  climbed  up  into  a 
wagon,  and  was  just  in  time  to  see  about 
twenty  of  the  Indians  make  a  dash  from 


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THB  SCOUT   HAD   SCALI'UD  THIS   DEAD  INDIAN.— Page   130. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  129 

the  banks  of  a  sheltering  coulee  and  give  the 
camp  a  volley  from  pretty  close  quarters.  It 
was  too  close  as  it  proved  for  one  of  them,  for 
as  the}r  were  remounting  their  ponies  after 
shooting  from  the  ground  for  a  better  aim, 
Joe's  bullet  had  done  its  deadly  work.  It 
struck  the  Indian  fairly  in  the  back,  going 
through  him  and  striking  his  pony  in  the 
neck,  killing  it  also.  The  two  fell  in  a  heap, 
the  pony  pinning  the  dead  Indian  to  the 
ground.  The  nearest  Indians  made  frantic 
efforts  to  pull  their  dead  comrade  from 
under  the  pony,  but  as  now  all  hands  from 
the  camp  were  pouring  a  galling  fire  upon 
them  the}'  fled,  leaving  the  dead  Indian 
behind!  Whether  any  more  were  hit  they 
could  not  tell,  but  one  certainly  lay  there,  a 
silent  witness  to  the  evil-minded  and  treach- 
erous nature  of  the  Indian. 

The  cavalry,  hearing  the  shooting,  came 
dashing  back  to  the  camp.  The  Indian 
scout  Chonka-ta-ketchah-ha  had  mounted 
his  pony  and  now  rode  out  to  the  dead 
Indian.    He  was  seen  to  dismount  and  bend 


130  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

over  the  body.  The  gleam  of  a  sharp  knife, 
a  hard  pull  and  he  waved  something  in  the 
air.  Horrors !  Tom  and  Joe  both  shud- 
dered. The  scout  had  scalped  the  dead 
Indian  !  It  was  one  thing  to  read  and  hear 
about  such  things  but  to  actually  see  this 
horrible  deed  performed  made  their  blood 
boil,  although  it  was  on  one  of  the  enemy. 
It  was  more  than  they  cared  to  talk  about. 
The  killing  of  a  dozen  Indians  would  not 
have  bothered  them  half  so  much. 

Major  Reno  came  over  to  where  Tom 
was  talking  to  his  father,  and  said : 

"Well,  Troxwell,  your  men  have  laid  one 
out;  that's  a  good  beginning." 

"Yes,  but  how's  this  thing  going  to  end ? 
There  are  several  hundred  of  those  Indians," 
answered  Major  Troxwell. 

"One  of  my  scouts  went  for  the  infantry 
before  those  fellows  came  up,  as  I  thought 
we  might  have  some  trouble.  But  look,  I 
think  the  whole  mass  is  leaving  us  for 
good    now,"     returned    Reno,    and,    sure 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  131 

enough,  they  appeared  to  be  making  off  as 
fast  as  the}-  could. 

"Let's  get  up  where  we  can  see  ever\-- 
thing,"  cried  Tom,  and  the  boys  climbed  on 
top  of  a  wagon  to  get  a  better  view. 

"It's  our  infantry'  coming  in  the  wagons, 
and  that's  what  has  scared  those  Indians." 

"They  most  likeh^  thought  it  was  time 
the}'  were  leaving. " 

"They  must  have  thought  Custer  was 
after  them  again." 

The  teams  came  dashing  in,  covered  with 
foam  from  hard  driving,  but  it  was  a  case 
in  which  it  was  hard  to  tell  of  what 
importance  a  few  minutes  might  be.  An 
extra  guard  was  placed  that  night,  and  the 
scouts  watched  the  country  well  for  the 
next  few  daj-s,  reporting  that  their  trouble- 
some neighbors  had  all  gone  south  in  the 
direction  of  the  Bear  Paw  mountains. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Shortly  after  this  little  trouble  with  the 
Indians  Dr.  Goon  remarked  : 

"Mr.  Hugill,  you  and  the  bo}rs  may  get 
our  traps  together  and  we  will  investigate 
the  surroundings  of  our  new  camp." 

"Good!"  exclaimed  Joe,  "and  I  vote  we 
go  toward  that  glittering  hill  over  there; 
my  curiosity  has  kept  me  thinking  about  it 
all  the  morning." 

This  new  camp  had  been  reached  the 
evening  before,  and  was  on  the  bank  of  a 
small  sluggish  stream  called,  by  way  of 
courtes}',  or  by  the  exaggerated  apprecia- 
tion of  anything  like  moving  water  in  a 
prairie  country,  "  Poplar  River."  Why  pop- 
lar, except  from  the  absence  of  that  tree  as 
well  as  of  all  others,  the  bo3rs  could  not  tell. 
There  may  have  been  such  trees  nearer  its 
influx  into  the  Great  Muddy,  but  up  here  at 

132 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  133 

its  head  there  was  neither  bush  nor  shrub. 
Before  them  a  level,  rolling  prairie  stretched 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  conveying  the 
same  impression  of  vastness  as  does  the  old 
ocean  when  one  stands  on  its  beach.  The 
glittering  hill,  of  which  Joe  spoke,  was  the 
only  break  in  the  dull,  and  uninviting  sur- 
roundings. This  was  a  slight  elevation 
above  the  level  horizon,  and  glittered  and 
scintillated  in  the  morning  sun  like  the  piles 
of  scraps  and  waste  back  of  a  tinshop. 
The  doctor  and  Hugill  walked  in  front  of 
the  lads,  who  were  watching  for  anything 
that  might  be  of  interest.  While  it  seemed 
much  nearer,  the  hill  proved  to  be  at  least 
five  miles  distant  before  they  reached  it,  so 
deceptive  is  the  clear  atmosphere  of  the 
prairies. 

" Here's  something!  "  shouted  Joe,  and  he 
and  Tom  bent  their  heads  over  a  small  but 
very  curious  creature  that  Joe  had  espied 
sunning  itself  on  a  stone. 

4 'What  in  the  world  can  it  be?  Don't 
touch  it!"  cried  Tom. 


134  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"I'm  not  going  to,  but  I  want  to  get  him 
in  my  box  before  it  crawls  down  some  hole," 
replied  Joe. 

"Why,  it's  a  horned  toad,"  exclaimed 
Hugill,  who  had  turned  back  to  see  what 
they  had  found,  while  the  doctor  strolled  on 
to  examine  the  cause  of  the  glittering 
appearance  of  the  hill  just  beyond  them. 

"A  horned  toad!" 

"Yes,  nothing  but  a  horned  toad,  and  I 
don't  think  the  doctor  will  want  it." 

"I'll  take  him  along  and  see,"  said  Joe, 
when  a  shout  from  the  doctor  attracted 
their  attention.  That  gentleman  was  seen 
to  be  dancing  about  and  fanning  himself  in 
the  most  vigorous  manner  with  his  hat. 

"What's  the  matter  with  the  old  chap 
now?  'Pon  me  soul,  I  believe  he's  struck  a 
wasp's  nest,"  declared  Hugill. 

"It  looks  that  way,"  chimed  in  Tom. 

"Why  doesn't  he  run  from  them,  then?" 
asked  Joe,  as  they  hurried  on  to  where  the 
doctor  stood  like  one  bewildered,   fanning 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  135 

himself  as  if  his  life  depended  on  it,  his 
hat  in  one  hand  and  his  wig  in  the  other. 

"Ha!  Ha!  Ha!"  roared  Hugill,  "why 
don't  you  leg  it  ?  Skip !  Run  !  Go  it  for  all 
you're  worth,  doctor! " 

"What's  the  matter,  sir,  hornets  or  a 
wasp's  nest?"  asked  Tom,  but  now  that 
they  had  reached  the  spot  where  the  doctor 
stood   they   saw  no  signs  of  these  insects. 

The  old  gentleman  looked  somewhat 
dazed  and  very  pale  as  he  gasped : 

"Ugh!  Ach !  I  can  hardly  breathe  yet. 
Ugh!  I'm  suffocating!  Don't  you  see  it? 
Kill  him,  Joe !  you've  got  the  gun,  kill  him !" 

"Kill  what,  sir?  "  asked  Joe,  wondering  if 
the  doctor  had  gone  crazy  or  was  suffering 
a  sunstroke,  as  it  was  now  intensely  hot. 

"Kill  that  reptile!  It  is  a  blow  snake!* 
He's  just  over  there,  and  I  stepped  right 
over  him.  Oh,  how  sick  I  feel!  I  could 
hardly  see  a  minute  ago.  I  was  suffocating, 
and  it  seemed  impossible  to  get  any  air. 
That's  what  I  was  fanning  myself  for.  He's 
just  beyond  you,  Joe." 

•This  incident  and  peculiarity  of  the  snake  are  facts. 


136  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Yes,  I  see  him!"  exclaimed  Joe,  as  he 
raised  his  gun. 

"Hold  on!  Don't  spoil  him!"  cried  the 
doctor,  but  he  spoke  too  late. 

Bang!  went  Joe's  rifle,  and  the  bullet, 
striking  the  snake  about  a  foot  from  his 
head,  fairly  cut  him  in  two  pieces. 

"I'm  afraid  I've  spoiled  him,"  said  Joe,  as 
the  writhing  creature  twisted  its  tail  in  all 
directions. 

"Never  mind,  we  must  have  him;  we  lose 
an  inch  or  two  here,  but  you  can  make  it  up 
in  feet  when  }^ou  tell  this  story  in  the 
future,"  replied  the  doctor,  recovering. 

"Snake  stories  are  always  barred," 
remarked  Hugill. 

"  Gracious !  I  shall  not  get  over  the  shock 
of  this  for  some  time.  I  was  walking 
along  rather  fast  when  right  at  my  feet  I 
saw  him  coiled,  a  great,  yawning  red  mouth 
extended  up  toward  me.  I  heard  a  hissing 
sound  as  I  sprang  over  him,  and  the  air  all 
about  me  seemed  permeated  with  a  sweet, 
overpowering,   suffocating  odor.      It  took 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  137 

my  breath  away  and  I  thought  I  should 
fall.  It  was  awful !  "  shuddered  the  doctor, 
making  a  grimace  at  the  remembrance. 

"I've  heard  of  blow  snakes,  but  never 
thought  they  existed,"  remarked  Tom,  as 
he  helped  to  dump  the  loathsome  creature 
into  a  tin  Id  ox  they  carried  for  such  pur- 
poses, and  then  all  trudged  on  to  the  hill. 

This  slight  elevation  from  the  surround- 
ing prairies  was  formed  of  earth  that  was 
loose  as  ashes  and  of  a  brownish  red  color, 
a  formation  like  the  bad  lands.  Strewn 
about  through  this  were  pieces  of  mica  from 
an  inch  cube  to  slabs  as  large  as  a  man's 
hand,  and  an  inch  thick,  and  this  was  what 
had  glittered  so  in  the  sun.  Specimens  of 
this  were  taken  and  then  they  returned  to 
camp,  where  the  rest  of  the  clay  was  spent 
in  putting  away  the  results  of  the  day's 
labor. 

Thus  the  daj^s  flew  b}^  Their  life  was  like 
one  prolonged  holiday,  Joe  would  often 
remark,  and  the  time  passed  so  quickh^that 
two  months  had  elapsed  before   the  boys 


138  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

realized   it,   and   mid-summer    found    them 
camped  in  the  Bad  Lands. 

"I  say,  Joe,  don't  you  think  we  could  kill 
a  buffalo  just  as  well  as  those  soldiers  did 
the  other  day  without  being  on  horse- 
back?" asked  Tom,  as  he  pressed  a  bunch 
of  flowers  into  position  for  the  herbarium. 

"I  think  so.  What  kind  of  a  shrub  is 
that  you've  got  there?  "  replied  Joe. 

"Dr.  Goon  said  it  had  campaniform 
flowers,  and  belonged  to  the  genus  hya- 
cinthus,  but  it  was  something  he  had  never 
seen  before  and  would  have  to  look  it  up. 
What  do  you  sajr  if  we  have  a  try  at  one 
to-day?" 

"All  right;  3^011  are  breaking  off  too 
many  of  those  flowers." 

"There  are  too  many  on  this  branch. 
Now  these  things  are  all  done  let's  go  and 
tell  the  doctor  where  we  are  going,  and  be 
off,"  said  Tom,  putting  the  big  book  away, 
and  soon  the  boys  were  hurrying  toward 
some  high  bluffs,  where  buffaloes  were  gener- 
ally to  be  found,  as  they  appeared  to  dislike 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  139 

the  loose,  ashen  soil  composing  what  is  gen- 
erally termed  "bad  lands".  It  might  have 
been  that  the  rough  formation  of  immense 
mounds  of  earth,  suggesting  hidden  terrors, 
caused  them  to  avoid  such  places. 

"We'll  go  up  on  that  butte  and  then  we 
can  get  a  good  view  of  the  prairie  for  miles 
around,"  suggested  Tom. 

"A  good  idea,  but  that  is  no  small  climb ; 
that  butte  will  surprise  us  by  its  height." 

"  It's  not  over  five  hundred  feet." 

"That's  enough  on  such  a  hot  day;  you 
will  think  so  before  we  get  there,"  and  so 
they  did,  as  Joe  had  predicted. 

"What  a  grand  view!  It  is  well  worth 
the  climb  !  My !  Just  look  at  the  buffaloes  ! 
There  are  squads  of  them  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach!  " 

"This  is  the  butte  that  the  doctor  and 
Hugill  climbed  the  other  day;  they  said  we 
could  see  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills,  and  those 
little  blue  ridges  to  the  west  must  be  they." 

"They  are  nearly  one  hundred  miles  from 


140  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

here;  that  shows  how  clear  the  air  must  be, 
or  we  could  not  see  so  far." 

"They  are  a  long  way  off.  Oh!  what 
herds  of  buffalo !  Joe,  there's  one  bunch  not 
a  great  distance  from  here,  all  around  the 
head  of  that  coulee  there.  We  can  go 
back  the  way  we  climbed  up  and  then  go 
around  the  end  of  this  butte  and  up  the 
coulee  until  we  are  right  into  them!  What 
do  you  say?" 

"Just  the  thing;  we'll  never  get  a  better 
chance,"  and  the  bo}rs  lost  no  time  in 
retracing  their  steps. 

It  was  much  easier  than  climbing  up,  and 
they  never  stopped  for  the  need  of  a  breath- 
ing spell  until  they  reached  the  bottom. 

"Now,  Joe,  you  are  certain,  are  3rou,  that 
the  coulee  the  buffaloes  were  in,  is  the  same 
one  that  opens  out  at  the  end  of  the 
butte?" 

"I  am  positive  of  it,  for  I  followed  it  down 
with  my  eyes  to  make  sure,  so  that  when 
we  reached  it  we  could  keep  in  the  bottom, 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  141 

and  not  have  to  show  ourselves  until  we 
reached  its  head." 

"  That's  what  I  was  thinking,  and  when 
we  get  in  the  coulee  we  must  keep  as  quiet 
as  we  can,  and  not  talk ;  we  want  to  keep 
down  in  it  until  we  get  as  far  as  we  can 
without  being  seen." 

"  Yes,  but  we  want  to  pick  out  some  fat 
young  cows,  for  the  bulls  are  too  tough." 

"It's  all  tough  enough  except  the  humps, 
but  all  we  want  are  the  tongues." 

The  boys  had  now  reached  the  coulee  and 
had  turned  into  it,  proceeding  without 
speaking  a  word.  This  shallow  depression 
in  the  prairie  grew  narrower  as  they  fol- 
lowed its  winding  course,  and  filial^  they 
had  to  crouch  down  as  they  went  forward. 
Its  depth  had  been  growing  correspond- 
ingly less,  until  they  were  obliged  to  crawl 
along  on  their  hands  and  knees,  as  they 
wished  to  get  as  close  to  the  herd  as  possible 
before  they  exposed  themselves  to  shoot. 
It  was  slow  work,  and  the  restrained  excite- 
ment was  telling  on  their  nerves.    The  boys 


142  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

had  had  so  much  practice  with  their  rifles 
that  they  were  excellent  shots  by  this  time. 

"  We  must  be  close  enough  now,"  ventured 
Tom. 

"All  right,"  replied  Joe,  and  the  boys 
arose  to  their  feet,  their  rifles  ready  cocked 
in  their  hands,  prepared  for  any  emergency. 
As  they  reached  their  feet  they  were  in  hopes 
of  being  within  rifle  range  of  the  nearest  of 


V*^>v*  *^fc*  u4uJ  . 


WHAT    WAS   THEIR    ASTONISHMENT    TO    FIND    THEMSELVES    WITHIN 
TWENTY  YARDS   OF  THE    NEAREST    ONE. 

the  straggling  herd,  but  what  was  their 
astonishment  to  find  themselves  within 
twenty  yards  of  the  nearest  one,  while  in 
front,  on  each  side,  and  behind  them  were 
dozens  of  these  monstrous  brutes,  feeding 
innocently,  unconscious  of  the  danger  in 
their  midst.    The  boys  had  exceeded  their 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  143 

intentions  and  were  actually  in  the  very 
center  of  the  herd.  The  two  nearest  ani- 
mals were  lying  down.  Two  old  bulls! 
They  were  quietly  chewing  the  cud  of  liberty 
and  independence,  and  were  not  more  than 
twenty  yards  from  the  boys.  The  ungainly 
brutes  were  on  their  feet  in  an  instant,  and 
sounded  a  loud  sniff  of  warning  which 
caused  every  animal  to  turn  his  head,  and 
soon  scores  joined  in  this  manifestation  of 
their  sense  of  danger.  Tom  threw  his  rifle 
to  his  shoulder  and  took  aim  at  the  great 
ungainly  brute,  which  looked  more  weird 
than  ever  from  the  naked  appearance  of  its 
back  and  hind  quarters. 

"That's  an  old  bull!  Don't  shoot!" 
exclaimed  Joe,  singling  out  a  young  cow. 
Two  rifles  rang  out  with  loud  report,  and 
the  cow  fell  mortally  wounded,  but  the  bull 
stood  pawing  the  dirt  and  throwing  dust 
in  clouds  over  his  back.  Tom  had  taken 
aim  at  the  center  of  the  bull's  forehead,  and 
quite  likely  hit  his  mark  fairly,  but  the  mass 
of  hardened    alkali    mud  entangled  in  his 


144  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

great  locks  of  hair  made  an  additional  pro- 
tection to  his  almost  impenetrable  skull. 
The  frightened  animals  came  running  up 
from  all  directions  and  again  two  rifle  shots 
rang  out.  This  scattered  the  approaching 
buffaloes,  and  set  the  entire  herd  in  motion, 
with  the  bo}'S  standing  in  their  midst.  On 
the  frightened  animals  came  threateningly 
near,  and  now  the  bo}rs  shot  at  the  on- 
coming brutes  with  the  intention  of  break- 
ing their  ranks,  for  who  could  tell  what 
was  to  be  the  end  of  this  sport  should  the 
buffaloes  come  en  masse ? 

"Run  with  the  herd,  Tom,  run  with  the 
herd!"  shouted  Joe,  who  was  standing  a 
little  nearer  the  approaching  buffaloes  than 
Tom,  and  away  the  boys  went  in  the  cen- 
ter of  an  open  space  kept  clear  by  their  con- 
stant shooting.  It  was  a  cannonading  of 
their  rifles,  a  thundering  of  the  buffaloes' 
hoofs  and  a  stifling  cloud  of  dust. 

Buffalo  in  front  of  them,  on  each  side  of 
them,  and  coming  from  the  rear !    Joe  was  a 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  14-5 

trifle  behind  Tom,  when  to  his  horror,  he 
saw  through  the  dust  an  old  bull  leave  the 
ranks  and  make  a  maddened  charge  from 
behind  upon  Tom,  who  was  wholly  uncon- 
scious of  his  approaching  danger. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

The  sight  of  that  infuriated  bull,  bleeding 
from  a  ghastly  gun  shot  wound,  and  about 
to  toss  his  companion,  all  but  froze  the 
blood  in  Joe's  veins,  and  had  the  deafening 
thunders  of  a  thousand  hoofs  allowed  of 
Tom's  hearing  a  warning  word,  Joe's  throat 
would  have  been  unable  to  utter  it.  His 
tongue  had  momentarily  lost  its  power,  but 
his  brain  was  quick  to  suggest,  his  arm  to 
respond.  His  rifle  was  thrown  to  his 
shoulder  and  with  an  instantaneous  but 
certain  aim  at  a  mortal  spot,  he  pulled  the 
trigger.  "Click"  sounded  the  hammer, 
striking  steel.  There  was  no  report,  no  dis- 
charge from  Joe's  rifle.  In  his  excitement 
he  had  forgotten  to  reload  it !  At  the  very 
moment  that  the  bull  was  on  the  unsuspect- 
ing Tom,  the  latter  stopped  for  a  second 
and  discharged  his  rifle  at  one  of  the  luuu 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  147 

bering  animals  on  the  right.  The  proximity 
of  the  explosion  to  the  ear  of  the  belligerent 
bull,  frightened  him  more  than  a  bullet  from 
Joe's  rifle  would  have  done,  for  he  turned  of 
his  own  accord  and  swerved  by  Tom  so 
closed  that  he  could  have  touched  the 
frightened  animal  with  his  hand  had  he 
been  so  inclined,  and  if  Joe  had  planted  a 
bullet  in  the  brute's  heart  the  force  of  his 
unimpeded  momentum  would  have  crushed 
Tom  in  the  downfall.  When  Joe's  rifle  failed 
to  respond  the  poor  fellow  closed  his  e\res 
for  the  moment  to  shut  out  the  sight  of  the 
seemingly  inevitable  result.  What  was  his 
surprise  and  delight  a  moment  later 
to  behold  his  comrade  yet  upon  his  feet  and 
the  last  of  the  buffaloes  beyond  them.  They 
stood  alone,  holding  the  heated  barrels  of 
their  rifles  in  their  hands,  their  hearts  beat- 
ing at  a  lively  rate  from  their  violent  run- 
ning and  not  a  dead  buffalo  in  sight.  Joe 
ran  up  to  Tom  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
saying: 


148  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Well,  old  fellow,  that  last  one  gave  you 
an  awful  close  call !  " 

"Didn't  he,  though?  I  might  have 
touched  him,  and  I  never  saw  him  until 
after  I  had  shot  at  a  cow  on  the  other  side 
of  me." 

"I  never  was  so  frightened  in  my  life.  I 
tried  to  shoot  him  but  I  had  forgotten  to 
reload ;  and  then  I  shut  my  eyes.  I  never 
expected  to  see  you  alive  again,  old  boy. 
Oh,  I'm  awfully  glad  you  didn't  get  hurt." 

"So  am  I,  for  that  matter,  but  it's  a  pity 
we  didn't  hurt  more  of  them  after  all  the 
shooting  we've  done.  I  shot  away  nearly 
all  of  my  cartridges,"  said  Tom,  feeling 
around  to  the  back  of  his  belt,  "only  seven 
or  eight  left!" 

"And  no  wonder  my  rifle  did  not  go  off. 
I  couldn't  have  loaded  if  I'd  wanted  to; 
mine  are  all  gone." 

"But  where  is  all  our  game?  I  can't  say 
positively  that  I  saw  a  single  one  fall,  but  I 
saw  plenty  of  them  bleeding  from  wounds." 

"Your  bullets  hit  too  far  back ;  they  have 


MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY.  149 

an  awful  tough  anatomy  and  can  carry  lots 
of  lead  before  they  die;  but  I  know  of  three 
or  four  falling  that  will  not  get  far." 

"Are  you  sure?  It  would  be  too  bad  to 
get  nothing  after  all  that  shooting;  we 
must  have  run  two  miles  or  more." 

"I  don't  doubt  it;  that's  one  for  a  cer- 
tainty over  there,"  exclaimed  Joe,  pointing 
to  a  dark  object  on  the  prairie. 

"Yes,  that's  one,  and  I  think  there  is 
another  just  be^^ond,"  added  Tom,  as  they 
hurried  along  back  to  where  they  found 
lying  dead  their  first  buffalo.  Approaching 
this  great  monarch  of  the  plains,  they  were 
both  filled  with  awe  and  reverence  for  the 
noble  brute  so  ruthlessly  slain,  for  this  great 
animal  that  would  soon  belong  to  the  past. 

"It  does  seem  a  pity  now  that  we've  killed 
him,  that  so  much  meat  is  to  be  wasted," 
said  Joe. 

"  We  might  as  well  kill  a  few  as  to  let  the 
Indians  have  them  all." 

"They  use  them  and  waste  nothing,  and 
kill  no  more  than  they  want." 


150  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Well,  we  can't  carry  more  than  his 
tongue  and  the  next  thing  is  to  get  that 
out.  What  a  monstrous  brute  he  is!" 
exclaimed  Tom,  taking  hold  of  one  of  the 
animal's  short,  black  horns  and  trying  in 
vain  to  move  his  head. 

"He's  a  big  fellow  and  no  mistake/' 
replied  Joe,  looking  at  him  admiringly. 

"  He  looks  like  an  elephant,  and  his  hide  is 
as  thick  as  an  elephant's,"  commented  Tom, 
having  thrust  his  knife  into  the  animal's 
mouth  and  trying  to  cut  the  hide  back 
toward  its  jaw,  while  pulling  at  the  brute's 
tongue  with  the  other  hand. 

"Ha!  Ha!  Ha!  That's  a  fine  way  to 
take  a  tongue  out!  It's  plain  to  see  that 
3^ou  never  butchered  anj7,"  cried  Joe. 

"Well,  how  else  would  you  do  it?  " 

"Not  that  way!" 

"Well,  how?  This  fellow  seems  to  have 
awful  teeth  ;  if  it  were  not  for  those  ivories 
I  could  manage,"  said  Tom,  having  only 
succeeded  in  getting  the  animal's  tongue 
half  out. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  151 

"Come,  let  me  take  the  knife;  yon  must 
slash  under  the  throat  from  near  the  muzzle 
to  the  windpipe,  and  through  this  long  slit 
you  must  pull  the  tongue  down,  then  you 
can  cut  it  off,  so,  getting  its  full  length," 
and  Joe  most  dexterously  removed  the 
tongue  and  held  it  up  proudly  to  Tom's  view. 

"Number  one!  Cut  a  little  hole  in  the  tip 
end  of  it  and  I  can  carry  it  on  one  finger." 

After  hunting  the  trail  thoroughly  back 
to  where  they  had  started  to  shoot  they 
found  only  three  more,  and  one  of  these  was 
the  3roung  cow  that  Joe  had  killed  at  the 
first  shot  when  they  came  into  the  herd. 

"  We  did  an  awful  lot  of  shooting  to  get 
only  four,"  said  Tom. 

"Yes,  but  I  am  afraid  that  we  have 
wounded  a  great  many  that  will  eventually 
die,"  replied  Joe,  as  he  finished  taking  out 
the  last  tongue. 

"I  can  carry  these  tongues  if  you  will  cut 
out  a  piece  of  the  hump,  Joe.  Do  try ;  the 
hump  that  the  scout  brought  in  the  other 
dav  was*  fine." 


152  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"I  can  get  all  we  can  carry  very  easil}^  if 
you  say  so.  It  will  seem  less  wasteful  to 
take  all  we  can,"  and  this  choice  morsel  was 
soon  added  to  their  plunder. 

Shouldering  their  rifles  the  bo}^  tramped 
back  to  camp,  delighted  with  the  result  of 
their  exploits.  After  depositing  the  spoils 
of  the  chase  with  the  cook  they  gave  most 
glowing  accounts  of  their  hunt  to  the 
others. 

"You  young  fellows  would  better  have 
been  here  at  work,  ye  know,  than  hunting 
like  bloody  Indians.  There's  a  lot  of  pack- 
ing to  be  done  this  afternoon.  We  've  orders 
to  move  camp  to-morrow,  }^e  know,"  piped 
Hugill. 

"No,  we  didn't  know  it;  why  did  you 
not  tell  us  before  we  left  ?  " 

"Just  heard  it  nryself,  half  an  hour  ago,  ye 
know." 

"I'm  glad  of  it.  Three  cheers  for  leaving 
this   dusty  hole!"    shouted   Tom  gleefully. 

"I  don't  think  any  body  will  be  sony  to 
leave.    What  do  you  say,  old  Wolf  Voice, 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  153 

glad  to  go?  "  asked  Joe,  of  the  scout,  who 
stood  beside  a  large  compass  that  was  on 
its  tripod  in  front  of  the  tent.  The  scout 
was  much  amused  at  the  way  the  needle 
followed  his  hunting  knife  as  he  moved  it 
about  over  the  top  of  the  glass,  but  he  made 
no  reply  and  Joe  repeated  his  question. 

"Glad  to  go,  Wolf  Voice  ?" 

"No,"  grunted  that  member  of  Uncle 
Sam's  defenders,  for  Wolf  Voice  was  a  reg- 
ular^ enlisted  scout. 

"Don't  want  to  move,  eh?', 

"No,"  was  again  his  laconic  reply. 

"  Well,  what  makes  3^011  like  to  stay  here?" 

"Good  water  —  heap  meat, — good," 
grunted  Wolf  Voice,  still  giving  his  attention 
to  the  compass. 

"More  good  water,  more  heap  meat," 
asserted  Joe,  hoping  that  his  predictions 
would  prove  true,  but  the  stoical  Indian 
simply  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  no  fur- 
ther remarks  could  be  elicited  from  him. 

The  preliminary  packing  was   done  in   an 


154  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

hour,   notwithstanding    Hugill's    allusions 
to  its  immensity,  and  then  Tom  remarked : 

"  Well,  Joe,  I'm  sorry  to  leave  Abe  and 
Ben." 

"So  am  I.  How  I  wish  we  could  take 
them  along  with  us,  but  Dr.  Goon  says  he 
can't  be  bothered  with  them." 

"It  seems  too  bad  to  be  obliged  to  leave 
them." 

"Yes,  it  is." 

"Let's  go  up  and  see  them,  and  say  good- 
D3'e  to  the  lads  for  the  last  time." 

"And  I'll  take  a  part  of  that  hump 
along." 

"All  right,  you  get  the  meat  and  I'll  get 
the  poles,"  assented  Tom,  going  around  to 
the  back  of  the  tent  where  he  found  a  couple 
of  surveyor's  rods;  these  were  tall,  slim 
poles  and  painted  red  and  white. 

The  poles  the  boys  used  first  to  assist 
them  in  climbing,  and  then  as  weapons  of 
defense,  for  although  Abe  and  Ben  were 
always  very  glad  to  see  them,  yet  their 
feathered  parents  always  resented  their  vis- 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 


155 


its  as  unwarranted  intrusions,  and  took 
particular  pains  to  show  their  dislike  with 
force  of  wings  and  claws,  dashing  through 
the  air  in  dangerous  proximity  to  the  boys, 
faces.  In  the  apex  of  a  pyramid  of  loose 
alkali-ashy  earth   was  the  nest  containing 


IN   THK    APEX    OF    A    PYRA.MTO,      *      *      *      *      WAS   THE    NEST 
CONTAINING    A2E    AND    BEX. 

Abe  and  Ben,  which  were  half  grown  3^oung 
eagles  and  great  favorites  of  the  bo}Ts.  It 
was  an  arduous  climb  to  reach  the  nest,  as 
that  soft  pile  of  peculiar  earth  was  many 
hundreds  of  feet  high  and  one's  feet  would 
sink  into  it  several  inches. 

"There  are  the  old  birds  now," cried  Tom, 
as  he  stopped  for  breath  and  leaned  on  his 


156  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

pole,  which  sank  to  a  considerable  depth  in 
the  ashy  earth. 

"Where?"  asked  Joe. 

"Over  that  way,  to  the  right  of  the  sun. 
Can't  you  see  them  sailing  around  ?  They 
are  so  near  the  sun  it  almost  blinds  me  to 
look  at  them." 

"Oh,  yes,  I  see  them  now.  How  high  up 
they  are!  I  can  just  see  them  now,  and 
that's  all.' 

"I  don't  think  they  have  seen  us  \ret." 

"  What  old  fools  they  are !  I  should  think 
they  would  understand  by  this  time  that 
we  don't  want  to  hurt  them.,, 

"They  have  no  more  sense  than  a  goose." 

"They  are  coming  this  way  now;  they 
are  going  to  give  us  one  parting  battle." 

"Well,  let's  hurry  up  to  the  top  and  then 
we  can  have  more  fun  with  them,"  and  Tom 
twisted  his  pole  around  to  get  it  out  of  the 
soft  earth,  and  once  more  they  climbed 
upward,  losing  half  as  much  ground  as  they 
gained  at  every  step. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  157 

When  they  reached  the  summit  they 
enj<yyed  seeing  the  3roung  eagles  eat  the 
meat,  bit  by  bit.  The  old  ones  soared  above 
them  at  a  respectable  distance  either  fearing 
to  again  attack  them  or  else  having  come 
to  an  understanding  of  their  motives.  This 
was  their  last  visit  to  the  eagle's  nest,  and 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  eagles  remembered 
the  boj^s  for  many  a  day,  as  no  more  tender 
morsels  ever  went  down  the  throats  of  the 
incipient  emblems  of  this  great  nation  than 
were  fed  to  these. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  sun  was  doing  its  utmost  to  show 
its  power,  and  although  the  timid  prairie 
dog  sought  a  refuge  in  its  cool  underground 
retreat  yet  the  stranger  within  its  gates 
writhed  its  shining  coils  and  reveled  in  the 
heat. 

" There's  another,"  shouted  Tom,  stretch- 
ing his  neck  out  of  the  rear  end  of  one  of 
the  wagons  as  they  slowly  toiled  along 
over  the  prairie . 

It  was  a  large  rattlesnake  coiled  up  near 
a  prairie  dog's  hole,  and  Joe,  trudging 
along  on  foot,  had  in  his  hand  the  mule 
driver's  whip,  with  which  he  had  been  try- 
ing to  hit  an  unwary  prairie  dog. 

"He  is  going  down  the  hole,"  replied  Joe, 
and  without  a  moment's  thought  he  rushed 
to  the  fast  disappearing  reptile  and  with 
all  a  boy's  recklessness  grasped  it  bv  the 

158 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  159 

end  of  the  tail,  but  dropped  it  in  almost 
the  same  instant,  and  with  a  blanched  face 
eagerly  examined  his  hand. 

44 Did  he  bite  yer?"  asked  the  driver, 
jumping  off  from  his  saddle  mule  without 
stopping  his  team,  and  running  over  to 
where  Joe  stood. 

"No,  I  think  not,  but  as  I  was  pulling  on 
his  tail  his  head  flew  out,  and  he  snapped 
at  my  hand,  coming  close  enough  to  scare 
me  pretty  badly. " 

"That'll  teach  yer  not  ter  meddle  with 
them  pesky  things,  fur  they  can  turn  in  a 
pretty  small  hole,"  was  the  driver's 
answer,  running  back  to  his  team  and 
remounting  his  mule. 

It  is  just  such  little  incidents  that  make 
up  the  daily  life  of  a  trip  across  the  plains, 
where  nearly  every  hour  produces  some- 
thing of  interest  to  an  observant  mind.  It 
was  a  three  days'  steady  journey  to  the 
Sweet  Grass  Hills,  making  nightly  camps 
with  the  poorest  of  water  for  man  and 
beast,  as  the  scout  had  predicted. 


160  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"To-morrow  night  we  shall  be  in  the 
hills,"  commented  Tom. 

"Yes,  and  won't  we  enjoy  a  good  drink 
once  more !  They  say  there  is  the  best  of 
water  there." 

"This  stuff  is  awful!  I  can't  drink  it  at 
all;  we'll  have  to  get  along  with  tea 
again." 

"One  must  be  actually  deprived  of  good 
water  to  appreciate  the  blessing." 

"Pat  said  last  night  it  was  full  of  red  bugs, 
even  after  he  had  strained  it  through  mus- 
lin." 

"He  ought  to  have  given  the  bugs  to  the 
doctor,"  said  Joe,  laughing. 

"I  believe  the  doctor  would  have  wanted 
them  had  he  known  it." 

"We 've  put  away  some  pretty  small  ones 
already." 

"What  do  you  suppose  they  do  with  all 
these  things  we  are  picking  up?  " 

"Put  them  on  exhibition  in  that  big  build- 
ing they  call  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  I  sup- 
pose." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  161 

Here  the  call  for  supper  interrupted  them, 
and  no  time  was  lost  in  responding  to  it, 
except  by  the  Indian  scout,  whose  name, 
as  translated  into  English,  the  boj-s  had 
long  since  found  out  to  be  Wolf  Voice,  and 
this  gentleman's  appetite  was  most  erratic. 
He  often  ate  but  once  a  day,  and  at  other 
times,  when  lying  about  camp,  he  was 
munching  upon  something  from  morning 
till  night,  and,  as  Pat  Molloy  graphic- 
ally explained  it,  "He  was  fillin'  his 
bread  basket  forninst  hard  toims."  On  this 
particular  evening,  as  all  had  finished  their 
supper  and  were  moving  back  from  the 
rough  board  table,  Wolf  Voice  made  his 
appearance,  very  much  excited,  saying : 

4 'Bear!     Bear!     Bear!" 

"  Phat's  the  matter  wid  ye?  Come  in  an' 
ate  yer  supper,  ye  omadhaun,"  spluttered 
Pat. 

"Bear!  Bear!  Bear!"  again  exclaimed 
the  Indian,  pointing  to  the  south  and 
beyond  the  little  swamp  on  which  they  were 
encamped. 


162  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"See  here,  my  worthy  heathen  friend,  we 
haven't  lost  any  of  bruin's  family,  ye 
know,  and  blawst  me  eyes  if  I'm  going  to 
look  for  any,"  drawled  Hugill,  slowly  filling 
his  pipe. 

"Sch!"  hissed  the  scout  through  his 
teeth,  for  although  he  did  not  understand 
the  words,  his  innate  keenness  told  him  that 
Hugill  was  trifling  with  him,  as  usual. 

"  Where?"  asked  Joe,  thinking  that  a 
change  from  their  buffalo  steaks  might  be 
acceptable. 

"Bear !  Good !  Bush  !  "  were  all  the  Eng- 
lish words  that  Wolf  Voice  could  command 
which  were  applicable  to  the  occasion,  but 
his  tongue  finding  a  loose  vein  in  his  excite- 
ment sought  relief  in  volumes  of  his  native 
language,  unintelligible  to  all. 

"He  has  run  a  bear  into  some  brush  and 
wants  help  to  get  him  out,  that's  what  he 
means,"  suggested  Tom,  and  the  quick  intel- 
ligent face  of  the  Indian  responded  with  a 
smile  of  satisfaction. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  163 

\ 

"  That's  just  what  I  think.  Let's  go  with 
him ;  he  can  go  through  the  brush  on  his 
kiyus  and  we  can  get  a  shot  at  the  bear 
when  he  runs  him  out,"  suggested  Joe,  buck- 
ling on  his  cartridge  belt. 

"You  don't  suppose  it  could  be  a  grizzl\% 
do  you  ?  I  would  not  want  to  be  on  foot 
when  one  of  those  fellows  comes  after  me." 

"No  danger  of  that,  they  never  leave  the 
mountains;  it's  probably  some  small  black 
bear;  they  are  the  only  kind  that  run  over 
the  prairies,  at  least  that's  what  I've  been 
told." 

"Well,  I'm  going  with  him  ;  what  do  you 
say,  Joe?" 

"Oh!  I'm  going,  every  time,"  replied  Joe, 
as  he  ran  into  his  tent  for  his  hunting  knife. 

"You  j^oung  cubs  had  best  stay  here,  ye 
know;  3'ou'll  begetting  killed  some  day,  fol- 
lowing that  copper-skinned  rascal  on  that 
pinto  kiyus  with  the  crockery  optics, "called 
out  Hugill,  who  wras  always  making  fun  of 
the  Indian's  wall-eyed  pony. 


164  MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY. 

"Don't  you  worry  over  our  mishaps," 
retorted  Tom. 

"Very  well,  very  well;  it's  none  of  my 
fu  n er al ,  3^  e  k now." 

"Nobody  is  going  to  get  hurt  you'll  enjo3^ 
a  bit  of  fat  bearsteak  as  well  as  any  one." 

"Yes,  when  you  catch  him,  ye  know.  Do 
you  think  that  bear  is  going  to  be  such  a 
bloody  fool  as  to  run  out  for  you  chaps  to 
kill  him  ?  Blawst  me,  if  I  ever  saw  such 
idiots." 

"We'll  tell  you  all  about  it  when  we  come 
back." 

"  Faith,  bhoys,  an'  ye'd  better  take  a  mule 
wid  ye;  if  the  durty  baste  should  see  ye  he 
moight  bite  ye,"  shouted  Pat,  but  without 
replying  the  bo3rs  hurried  on  after  the  scout, 
who  had  mounted  his  kiy^us  and  was  leav- 
ing camp.  The  grass  was  quite  rank  about 
the  swamp,  and  the  mules  were  enjo3ring 
themselves  in  the  excessive  verdure,  for  in 
their  former  campings  in  the  Bad  Lands  feed 
had  been  scant.    The  three  hunters  followed 


MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY.  165 

around  the  edge  of  the  swamp  and  then 
went  up  a  ravine  about  a  mile. 

"  We'll  have  to  lose  no  time  for  the  sun 
will  be  down  in  an  hour  or  so." 

"  That's  a  fact,  but  this  must  be  the  place. 
Ho!  Wolf  Voice!  This  the  place?"  called 
Tom,  pointing  to  some  brush  which 
extended  over  many  acres  of  ground,  and  in 
most  places  wras  so  dense  as  hardly  to  allow 
an3rone  to  go  through  it.  The  Indian 
nodded  his  head  and  motioned  for  Tom  to 
go  on  one  side  of  the  brush  and  for  Joe  to 
station  himself  on  the  other. 

"  All  right,  I'll  get  behind  that  little  point 
of  rock,  which  will  hide  me,  and  if  you  can 
get  the  bear  to  follow  you  come  toward 
me,"  replied  Joe,  with  many  gestures  which 
the  Indian  understood  much  better  than  his 
words. 

"Run  him  over  toward  me  and  give  me  a 
chance,"  said  Tom.  Whether  he  understood 
him  or  not  he  made  no  answer,  but  spurred 
his  ki3Tus  into  the  thickest  of  the  scrubby 
brush.    Up  and  down  he  rode,  leaping  his 


166  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

kiytis  over  a  tall  patch  of  undergrowth, 
dashing  through  an  open  spot,  here  and 
there,  and  everywhere,  yelling  and  whoop- 
ing, pounding  his  nimble  beast  whenever  the 
little  animal  failed  to  respond,  but  as  yet  no 
signs  of  bruin. 

The  boys  were  wild  with  excitement,  and 
eagerly  watched  for  some  indications  of  the 
bear.  Suddenly  the  Indian  stopped  short 
in  his  wTild  career,  and  looked  intently  ahead 
of  him,  his  wiry  little  pony  crouched  back 
upon  its  haunches,  with  its  neck  arching, 
its  ears  thrown  forward,  and  its  dilated 
nostrils  giving  vent  to  snorts  of  terror. 
Wolf  Voice  had  discovered  the  bear  nearly 
hidden  from  sight  in  a  mass  of  dead  brush. 

"  He  sees  him !  "  shouted  Joe,  who  was  on 
a  little  higher  ground  than  Tom. 

The  Indian  raised  his  gun,  and,  although 
he  knew  it  was  impossible  to  make  a  sure 
shot  on  account  of  his  kiyus,  that  had  com- 
menced dancing  around  in  affright,  yet  he 
discharged  it,  hoping  either  to  wound  the 
brute  or  to  frighten  it  out  of  its  retreat. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  167 

"Did  you  hit  him  ?  "  shouted  Tom,  but  in 
another  moment  the  bo}^s  both  saw  that,  if 
the  shot  had  taken  effect,  it  had  done  no 
serious  harm,  for  now  the  Indian  was  urg- 
ing his  pony  on  to  more  desperate  exertions 
than  ever,  but  this  time  to  get  away  from 
the  bear. 

"Come  this  way,"  Joe  cried  out,  and,  as 
he  was  nearer  to  him  than  to  Tom,  he  did 
so.  It  was  an  exciting  run,  for  in  the  brush 
the  bear  had  the  advantage.  Crashing  over 
the  thick  bushes,  blindly  dashing  into  ever}r- 
thing,  it  was  soon  close  enough  to  have 
done  the  ki}Tusan  injury  had  it  not  lost  just 
time  enough  in  rearing  upon  its  hind  feet,  in 
order  to  strike  with  its  fore  paw,  to  allow 
the  pursued  to  get  a  length  ahead  of  it. 
Several  times  the  boys  thought  that  the 
bear  had  gotten  his  claws  into  the  flanks  of 
the  noble  little  kiyus,  that  was  now  so  thor- 
oughly imbued  with  the  sense  of  danger 
that  it  needed  no  encouragement  to  do  its 
utmost,  but  each  timethe  bear  fell  just  short 
of  its  prey. 


168  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

Wolf  Voice  extricated  himself  from  the 
maze  of  the  thicket  and,  taking  advantage 
of  a  slight  open  spot,  gained  considerably 
on  the  bear.  Determined  to  lose  none  of 
this  advantage  he  induced  the  animal  to 
follow  him  up  the  ravine,  but  getting 
nearer  to  the  outskirts  of  the  thicket;  then 
making  a  quick  turn  he  doubled  on  the 
infuriated  brute  and  came  dashing  down 
past  Joe,  with  bruin  about  twenty  feet  in 
the  rear.  Joe  was  a  good  shot,  but  in  this 
exciting  prelude  his  nerves  had  become 
strained  to  their  utmost  tension,  and  the 
difference  between  shooting  at  a  mark  and 
live  game  on  the  run,  now  became  exempli- 
fied. His  hand  trembled  slightly  and  his 
bullet  struck  just  far  enough  back  to  send 
the  bear  rolling  head  over  heels  but  not  to 
kill  it. 

The  scout  had  been  looking  behind  him 
and  had  witnessed  the  effect  of  Joe's  shot. 
Thinking  that  now  the  infuriated  beast 
would  turn  and  attack  Joe,  he  wheeled  his 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  169 

kivus  and  dashed  to  his  side.  Then  sliding 
from  his  saddle  as  only  an  Indian  can  slide,  he 
struck  the  animal  a  sharp  blow  with  his 
qnirt  which  sent  it  scampering  off,  trailing 
his  long  lariat. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Wolf  Voice  threw  his  blanket  on  the 
ground  and  stood  there,  a  lithe  and  almost 
naked  savage,  his  rifle  in  one  hand  and  his 
sharp  knife  in  the  other.  The  light  and  fire 
of  many  past  generations  of  braves  flashed 
from  his  dark  eyes,  a  smile  of  satisfaction 
played  about  his  face  and  a  look  of  delighted 
anticipation  came  in  gentle  contrast  to  his 
usually  ugly  and  sardonic  expression. 

"Shall  I  shoot  again  ?"  queried  Joe,  who 
had,  before  this,  reloaded  his  rifle  and  stood 
determined  to  hold  his  ground.  The  bear 
lay  on  its  side  groaning  and  biting  at  its 
wounds,  and  although  it  was  not  a  grizzlv, 
yet  it  was  one  of  the  largest  of  the  species 
known  as  the  cinnamon,  and  often  mistaken 
for  the  grizzhy.  It  was  a  large  brute,  but 
after  the  exaggerated  stories  Joe  had  heard 

170 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  171 

of  the  size  of  bears,  he  did  not  appreciate 
the  dimensions  of  this  one. 

"No!"  exclaimed  Wolf  Voice,  keeping  his 
piercing  eyes  on  the  great  ugly  brute,  that 
was  yet  in  its  blind  rage  totally  unconcious 
of  its  enemies. 

"He's  getting  awfully  mad,"  said  Joe, 
who  could  see  no  reason,  as  he  afterward 
told  Tom,  for  not  pumping  the  lead  into 
him  right  there. 

"Heap  bad  medicine,  heap  bad,"  said 
Wolf  Voice,  his  base  gutterals  toned  down 
to  almost  sylvan  chords  at  the  prospect  of 
the  blood  so  soon  to  flow. 

"Well,  why  not  shoot  now?  Wlw  not 
both  shoot  together?"  continued  Joe,  rais- 
ing his  rifle  to  his  shoulder  to  add  signifi- 
cance to  his  words. 

"No!    No!    No!" 

"  Why  not?  "  repeated  Joe,  who  was  a  little 
impatient,  not  being  quite  able  to  conquer 
a  Nimrod's  selfishness  as  he  now  saw  that 
Tom  was  hurrying  around  the  lower  end 
of  the  brush. 


172  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"No!     Him  stand— Wolf  Voice  shoot.'' 

"What  do  you  think  I'm  going  to  do? 
Stand  here  and  see  you  have  all  the  fun? 
Him  stand  and  me  shoot,  hey,  old  Wolf 
Voice?  "  cried  Joe,  tapping  the  stock  of  his 
rifle. 

This  was  much  for  the  Indian  to  relin- 
quish, but  there  was  something  so  brave  in 
Joe's  frank  boyish  face  that  it  appealed 
to  the  savage  instinct  of  the  Indian.  There 
was  no  time  for  further  reflection,  as  the 
bear  now  discovered  the  two  standing 
within  forty  }rards  of  it  and  began  to 
advance.  When  half  of  the  distance  was 
accomplished  it  reared  upon  its  hind  feet, 
looking  to  them  nearly  as  large  as  an  ox. 

"Shoot!"  exclaimed  Wolf  Voice,  holding 
his  rifle  in  readiness  to  shoot  should  Joe's 
bullet  fail  to  find  a  vital  spot,  for  lead  often 
takes  a  vicarious  course  through  these 
tough  brutes. 

"Bang!"  went  Joe's  rifle,  and  as  he  had 
taken  a  cool  and  careful  aim  at  the  brute's 
throat   the  bullet   went   crashing    through 


f 


mm 


%^^LS^^- 


WOLF   VOICE      *      *      *      STOOD    THERE,    A    LITHE   AND    ALMOST 

naked  savage. — Page  170. 


MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY.  175 

its  spinal  column  and    it    fell  dead  in   its 
tracks. 

Tom  now  came  running  up  quite  out  of 
breath,  and  as  Wolr  Voice  drew  his  sharp 
knife  across  the  animal's  throat,  allowing 
it's  warm  heart's  blood  to  gush  over  his 
hand  bathing  it  in  the  scarlet  fluid  to  his 
wrist,  he  gave  forth  a  deep  "Ugh,"  which 
seemed  to  express  his  entire  satisfaction  as 
to  the  result. 

"Did  you  drop  him,  Joe?"  asked  Tom, 
panting  from  his  run. 

"  Yes,  it  was  getting  so  dusky  that  I  was 
afraid  I  would  miss  him ;  it  was  more  luck 
than  anything  else,"  answered  Joe,  looking 
at  the  huge  brute  with  a  thrill  of  delight. 

"  All  your  good  shooting,  Joe.  I  wish  I'd 
had  a  chance  at  him  too." 

"Yours  next  time,  Tom.  He  chased  Wolf 
Voice  this  way  and  there  was  nothing  else 
for  him  to  do  but  to  come  toward  me." 

"Yes,  I  know,  but  I  would  like  to  have 
had  one  shot  at  him.    What  shall  we  do 


176  MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY. 

with  him  ?  It  is  getting  too  dark  to  take 
the  insides  out  of  him  now." 

"  What  say  yon,  Wolf  Voice  ?  " 

"No  good,"  said  that  gentleman,  going 
back  to  where  he  had  dropped  his  blanket 
and  again  wrapping  it  around  him. 

"Not  good!  Wliat's  the  matter  with  it, 
I'd  like  to  know?"  inquired  Tom,  and  then 
the  Indian  pretended  to  cut  a  piece  out  of 
the  dead  bear's  flank,  put  the  imaginary 
morsel  into  his  mouth,  and  with  mighty 
endeavors  and  ludicrous  antics  failed  to 
shut  his  bright  and  wolfish  teeth  upon  it. 

"He  means  that  the  bear  is  too  old  and 
tough;  that  we  could  not  eat  it,"  interpre- 
ted Tom,  laughing. 

"He  probably  saw  the  bear  run  in  here 
and  could  not  tell  whether  it  was  a  young 
one  or  not;"  then  turning  to  the  Indian, 
Joe  said:  "Isn't  that  so,  Wolf  Voice?" 
But  Wolf  Voice  most  likely  did  not  under- 
stand, as  he  made  no  reply  but  started  after 
his  kiyus  which  was  now  grazing  on  the 
hill  at  some  little  distance  from  them.    Joe 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  177 

and  Tom  did  not  wait  for  him  but   started 
back  to  camp. 

The  shooting  of  the  bear  was  very  exciting, 
but  the  boys  found  the  subsequent  recount- 
ing to  breathless  listeners  even  more  so,  and 
after  they  had  made  the  others  fully  cogni- 
zant of  every  item  of  their  adventures  of 
the  evening,  it  is  not  surprising  that  they 
had  marvelous  dreams   of  ursine  monsters. 

The  next  evening,  after  an  arduous  day's 
travel  they  encamped  at  the  foot  of  the 
northwest  group  of  the  mountains  known  as 
the  "Sweet  Grass  Hills."  This  cluster  of 
mountains,  the  tallest  one  of  which  they 
afterward  found  to  be  thirt\^-five  hundred 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  prairie,  was 
almost  on  the  forty-ninth  parallel,  the  line 
running  across  its  northern  slopes.  Here 
was  a  beautiful  place  for  a  camp,  plenty  of 
wrood  and  water  and  good  grass  for  the 
mules  and  horses.  The  doctor's  party 
came  trailing  in  nearly  an  hour  behind  the 
others,  whose  stock  was  already  feeding 
out  upon  the  hills  in  charge  of  the  Indian 


178  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

scouts.  The  white  tents  of  the  cavalrj^men 
glittered  in  the  sun,  and  as  the  doctor  now 
had  the  choice  of  positions  they  went  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  above  all  the  others, 
thus  getting  the  first  usage  of  the  mountain 
brook  which  only  too  soon  lost  its  chief 
attractions  in  the  more  level  land  below. 

"Oh!  How  jolly  to  be  near  a  mountain 
like  this!"  cried  Tom,  gazing  joyfully  at 
the  grand  heights  beyond. 

"Yes,  indeed,  and  to-morrow  we'll  be  on 
the  top  of  one  of  those  peaks,  eh,  Tom  ?  " 

"That's  what  we  will.  There  we  can 
load  ourselves  down  with  flora  and  fauna 
without  trouble." 

"Everything  grows  in  the  mountains; 
that's  where  I  want  to  live  when  I  grow 
up." 

"I'd  not  complain  of  an}*-  place  if  I  were 
not  compelled  to  live  on  a  prairie,"  and  Tom 
shook  his  head  decisively,  as  he  rolled 
over  a  big  bundle  of  white  canvas  which 
was  soon  transformed  into  a  domicile  for 
the  delectation  of  the  cook.  After  this  others 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  179 

soon  took  form  to  themselves,  and  the  doc- 
tor's camp  was  soon  again  a  thing  of  per- 
fection. 

"How  do  3rou  like  this  water,  boys?" 
called  Dr.  Goon,  as  he  stood  by  the  side  of 
the  rippling  brook  the  next  morning,  hold- 
ing a  cup  of  the  crystal  fluid  in  his  hand. 

"It's  delicious,  sir,"  answered  Tom. 

"Nothing  like  good,  pure  water,"  and 
again  the  doctor  gulped  down  great  swal- 
lows of  it. 

"No,  indeed,  sir." 

"It's  hard  to  improve  on  nature's  most 
excellent  beverage,  but  just  think  of  the  stuff 
we've  had  to  drink  in  the  last  three  da}Ts. 
Bah!"  and  throwing  the  last  few  drops 
on  the  ground  he  added,  "it's  a  wonder 
some  of  us  were  not  made  sick." 

"Mighty  little  of  it  I  drank,  or  I  would 
have  been  sick,"  said  Tom. 

"It  was  bad,  and  no  mistake,  and  now 
you  boys  would  like  to  go  up  into  the 
mountains,  I  know." 

"Yes,  sir!    Yes,  sir!" 


180  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"  Well,  you  must  take  care  of  yourselves 
and  not  get  hurt,  and  I  want  you  to  prom- 
ise me  to  let  all  bears  alone ;  }rou  might  not 
come  off  so  luckily  a  second  time." 

"Oh!  now,  Dr.  Goon,  that's  too  bad!  I 
do  want  to  get  a  bear,"  returned  Tom,  lugu- 
briously. 

"  Well,  there  ma}^  be  some  bear  that  wants 
to  get}rou,  sol  want  you  boys  to  both  prom- 
ise me  you  '11  not  trouble  any  bears  should 
you  see  them." 

44 That's  pretty  rough." 

"  You  must  give  me  your  promise  or  1  '11 
have  to  put  you  to  some  other  kind  of 
work." 

41  All  right,  sir,  we'll  promise." 

44 The  Institute  doesn't  want  them,  and 
and  I  don't  want  them.  We  only  want 
those  things  that  we  have  no  specimens  of, 
and  every  known  species  of  bruin's  family  is 
standing  about  in  some  position  in  the 
Smithsonian  Institute." 

44  We '11  promise  not  to  shoot  at  a  bear  if 
he's  a  mile  off,"   laughed  Joe,  but  it  was 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  181 

something  of  a  disappointment  to  Tom  to 
be  thus  deprived  of  a  chance  to  vindicate 
his  prowess  as  a  hunter. 

The  bo3rs  were  accustomed  to  being  sent 
off  on  these  rambling  trips  together  to  secure 
am^thing  in  the  shape  of  new  specimens,  and 
as  Hugill  had  no  great  relish  for  tramping 
over  the  country,  and  much  preferred  stay- 
ing in  camp  and  skinning  the  birds  and 
small  animals  preparatory-  to  mounting, 
the  boys  performed  that  part  of  the  work 
that  suited  them  best.  Tom  and  Joe  fol- 
lowed up  the  ravine  on  which  they  were 
encamped,  for  about  a  mile.  The  ascent  at 
this  point  became  quite  steep,  and  here  the 
first  few  trees  were  met. 

4 *  Isn't  this  a  beautiful  pine,  Joe?  Let's 
sit  down  here  and  rest  and  enjoy  the  view 
below  us  a  few  minutes,"  said  Tom,  throw- 
ing himself  on  the  ground  in  the  shade. 

"I  had  no  idea  we  were  getting  up  so 
high;  what  a  grand  view  we  shall  have  from 
the  tops  of  these  mountains ! " 


182  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"I  think  we  shall  be  able  to  see  Milk  river 
from  the  top." 

"Milk  river!  Well,  I  should  say  so!  I 
dare  say  we  shall  be  able  to  see  the  Sas- 
katchewan, but  much  will  depend  on  the 
clearness  of  the  atmosphere." 

"Dr.  Goon  said  this  morning  that  we 
could  see  the  Rocky  mountains  from  the 
highest  of  these  peaks  if  it  were  clear,  and 
they  are  one  hundred  and  fort3'-five  miles 
from  here  to  where  the  line  strikes  them. 
What  makes  these  cones  keep  dropping 
down?  That's  the  second  one  that's  hit 
my  hat." 

"I  was  just  asking  myself  that  same  ques- 
tion. If  we  can  see  the  Rockies  from  here 
that  sight  alone  is  worth  the  trip  out  here. 
Just  think  of  seeing  a  great  range  of  moun- 
tains one  hundred  and  forty-five  miles 
away!  There's  another  cone !"  cried  Joe, 
looking  up  into  the  branches  of  the  tree. 

"I  believe  there's  something  up  in  this 
tree,  Joe." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  183 

''Those  cones  don't  drop  right  here  on  us 
of  their  own  accord  and  no  place  else," 
remarked  Joe,  getting  up  and  walking  back- 
ward a  few  feet  and  looking  up  in  the 
branches  of  the  tree. 

"That's  what  I  think,  and  I  believe  there 
is  something  up  there,"  replied  Tom. 

"And  there  is  as  sure  as  you  live,  some 
queer  looking  animal  about  half  way  up  the 
tree,  right  over  our  heads." 

"Where?" 

"Stand  back  here  near  me,  and  you  can 
see  him." 

"Yes,  that's  a  fact!  What  is  it?  It  looks 
like  a  young  bear.  The  doctor  did  not  sa3T 
an3'thing  about  cubs,  eh,  Joe?"  and  Tom 
raised  his  rifle. 

"Oh !  I  would  not  shoot,  Tom,  }tou  know 
we  promised." 

"But  this  is  only  a  cub." 

"That  doesn't  make  any  difference;  the 
old  one  might  be  around  and  we  might  have 
to  shoot  to  save  ourselves  if  we  bother  the 
cub." 


184  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"  All  right,  Joe,  we  won't  break  our  prom- 
ise, but  the  doctor  did  not  say  anything 
against  taking  one  alive,  and  I'm  going  to 
get  that  youngster  down  out  of  there  as 
sure  as  you  are  born." 

This  new  phase  of  their  instructions 
seemed  quite  reasonable,  and  without  fur- 
ther discussion  Joe  gave  Tom  the  use 
of  his  shoulder  to  assist  him  to  reach  the 
lower  branches  of  the  immense  pine. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

As  soon  as  Tom  had  reached  the  first 
branches  strong  enough  to  hold  his  weight, 
it  was  much  like  going  up  a  ladder  for  him 
to  mount  from  limb  to  limb. 

' '  Do  n't  let  the  little  brute  bite  you , ' '  called 
Joe. 

"Oh!  He's  too  small  to  bite;  he  may 
scratch  a  little.  You  look  out  for  the  old 
one;  she  may  come  back  and  catch  you." 

"I'll  look  outforher.,, 

"Oh!    Joe!" 

"Hello!" 

"I  don't  think  this  thing  is  a  cub  after 
all." 

"What  is  it?" 

"Well,  sir,  I  don't  know  just  yet,  I  can't 
get  a  very  good  look  at  him  from  here,  but 
I  think  it's  a  porcupine." 

"You  want  to  look  out  for  him  if  it  is." 

185 


186  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"I  can  tell  when  I  get  np  on  this  next 
limb.  Yes,  it  is  a  porcupine,  and  he  has 
just  discovered  that  I  am  coming  after 
him." 

"Look  out  that  he  doesn't  throw  his 
quills  at  3-011." 

"Oh,  I  don't  believe  that  old  fable!  But 
I've  got  to  come  down  again,  and  get  some 
kind  of  a  pole  to  shove  him  down  with," 
exclaimed  Tom,  who  climbed  down  again 
to  the  last  large  limb,  which  was  not  more 
than  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground.  Sitting 
on  this  he  said  : 

"I  say,  Joe,  if  we  get  him  out  of  the  tree 
what  are  we  going  to  do  with  him?  I 
think  I  had  better  take  my  rifle  up  with  me 
and  shoot  him." 

"Oh,  no;  they  are  quite  harmless  if  you 
don't  touch  them;  let's  try  to  take  him 
back  alive." 

"  How  can  we?" 

"I've  got  a  stout  cord  in  my  pocket  about 
ten  or  twelve  feet  long;  if  we  could  get  it  on 
his  neck  we  could  drag  him  back  to  camp." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  18? 

*  *  I'll  drive  him  down  out  of  this  tree  if 
you  will  hand  me  that  long  dead  limb  for  a 
pole." 

"It's  pretty  heavy  to  handle  and  not  very 
stout." 

"Never  mind,  reach  it  up  and  I'll  man- 
age it." 

"Now,  catch  the  end  of  it." 

"All  right,  3^ou  hold^^our  hat  when  I  poke 
him;  he  may  fall  right  into  it." 

i 'Yes,  I  will  —  not,"  answered  Toe, as  Tom 
climbed  up  again,  lugging  his  unwield}^ 
limb  after  him.  It  was  no  ver\r  easy  mat- 
ter to  disengage  the  bristling  porcupine,  as 
it  showed  but  little  fear,  and  lent  all  its 
endeavors  to  holding  on  to  the  limb,  but 
finally  it  had  to  surrender  to  Tom's  con- 
stant punching. 

"Here  it  comes!"  shouted  Tom,  from  his 
lofty  perch,  and  Joe  could  see  the  strange 
animal  slipping  and  sliding  down,  jumping 
and  leaping  from  branch  to  branch,  and 
then  with  one  long  slide  and  a  jump,  its 
long  sharp  claws  let  go  of  the  rough  bark 


188 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 


and  it  reached  the  ground,  there  to  be  con- 
fronted by  Joe,  who  with  another  dead 
branch  disputed  its  departure. 

"Don't  let  him  get  away!"  cried  Tom, 


IT  REACHED  THE  GROUND,  THERE  TO  BE  CONFRONTED  BY  JOE. 

climbing  down  in  a  less  expeditious  manner 
than  did  the  porcupine. 

"He  can  never  get  away,  for  he  doesn't 
seem  very  nimble  on  his  feet,"  replied  Joe. 

"If  we  can  only  get  the  cord  on  his  foot 
or  neck!" 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  189 

"I  can  put  it  on  all  right  if  you  will  hold 
him,"  laughed  Joe,  and  the  bristling  animal 
backed  up  toward  the  tree  as  if  to  prevent 
attack  from  the  rear. 

"I  could  hold  him  down  with  this  pole  if 
he  wouldn't  throw  his  quills  at  me." 

"I  don't  think  he  can  do  anything  of  the 
kind.  Chance  him  anywa3r;  they  wouldn't 
hurt  much — Oh!  Ouch!"  yelled  Joe,  as  he 
jumped  back. 

The  little  animal  had  assumed  the  offen- 
sive and  settled  one  point  in  natural  history, 
at  least  to  Joe's  satisfaction,  for  the  porcu- 
pine had  dropped  down  on  one  hind  quarter, 
and  with  a  jerk  of  his  short  tail  much  as 
one  would  snap  a  whip  he  sent  half  a  dozen 
or  more  quills  to  the  four  points  of  the 
compass,  one  taking  effect  in  the  calf  of 
Joe's  leg. 

"  Ha  !  Ha !  Ha !  "  laughed  Tom. 

"That  hurts,  I  can  tell  you,  if  you  do  see 
so  much  fun  in  it,"  said  Joe,  as  he  pulled  out 
the  quill,    which  certainly  could   not  have 


190  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

penetrated  very  far,  as  he  made  no  attempt 
to  examine  the  wound. 

''There's  another  quill  sticking  in  the  bark 
of  the  tree ;   he's  a  regular  Gatling  gun." 

"Rather  promiscuous  firing;  they  went 
in  all  directions." 

"It  settles  the  fact  that  they  can  throw 
their  quills." 

"Not  much  like  a  throw,  it  was  more  like 
a  jerk." 

"Well,  here's  one  way  over  here,  at  least 
fifteen  feet  from  him,  and  I  suspect  more 
went  in  the  grass.* 

"Look  out!  He's  going  up  the  tree  again !  " 
shouted  Joe,  as  they  both  rushed  to  the  tree 
and  with  their  sticks  prevented  the  porcu- 
pine from  climbing  up  again. 

"Now,  Joe,  I  can  hold  him  here  tight  to 
the  tree  if  3rou  can  slip  that  cord  on  his  hind 
leg ;  it  hangs  down  below  his  quills, "  directed 
Tom,  and  without  ari3'  trouble  Joe  had  the 
stout  cord  on  the  hind  foot  of  the  porcupine, 
which  was  now  at  their  mercy. 

*Notr— -This  ability  of  the  porcupine  is  mentioned  by  Pliny  and 
often  ridiculed  by  moderns ;  yet  is  a  fact,  and  has  been  observed  by 
the  author. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  191 

"We  can  drive  him  right  clown  to  camp," 
said  Joe. 

"Yes,  and  I  have  heard  they  are  Yery 
good  eating,  just  like  pork.  Poke  him  along, 
Joe!  Don't  let  him  stop  to  sit  down,  or  he 
will  give  that  tail  another  shake. " 

"  I  just  wish  he  would  send  one  into  your 
leg;   that  hurts  yet.' ' 

"I  can  imagine  it  does." 

"I  hope  the  doctor  makes  Hugill  skin  it 
and  doesn't  ask  us  to." 

"Oh!  what  fun!  Wouldn't  he  rave  and 
tear!  The  doctor  will  be  sure  to  want  this 
fellow  stuffed,  and  I  don't  think  he  would 
trust  it  to  us ;  he  has  not  forgotten  the  slash 
you  put  in  that  black  fox  skin  yet," 
exclaimed  Tom. 

When  the  boys  reached  camp  they  found 
it  quite  deserted,  save  for  the  cook,  Pat 
Mollo3%  and  tying  the  porcupine  to  one  of 
the  wagon  wheels,  thej^  told  Pat  to  keep  an 
eye  on  the  wild  pig  they  had  caught. 

"Faith,  an'  Oi'll  moind  'im,  but  Oi  niver 
saw  the  likes  of  sich  bristhles  in   me  loife," 


192    '  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

returned  Pat,  stooping  down  quite  close  to 
the  animal  to  examine  him  better,  which 
the  fretful  brute  resented  by  the  same 
maneuver  as  when  first  disturbed  by  the 
boys. 

"Ach!  Oh!  Tare  an'  'ounds!  Whist!  The 
divil  take  his  bristhles !  He's  got  'em  in  me ! 
bad  'cess  to  'im !  "  -shouted  Pat,  springing  to 
his  feet  and  jumpingup  and  down  like  a  mad- 
man, knocking  at  several  quills  sticking 
into  him  much  as  an  excited  person  does  at 
a  lot  of  angry  hornets. 

"Stand  still,  Pat,  stand  still,  and  I'll  pull 
them  out,"  called  Tom. 

"Whoop!  Musha!  Ye  may  sthand  still 
as  ye  loike  wid  a  dozen  hot  petaters  down 
yer  back  but  Oi'm  half  human  meself, 
avick!"  howled  Pat,  who  had  nevertheless 
ceased  his  antics,  and  allowed  the  sharp 
quills  to  be  pulled  out. 

"You  don't  want  to  go  near  him  when 
you  feed  him,  and  he  w^ill  be  quiet  enough." 

"Faith,  an'  Oi'll  feed  him  wid  a  club  an' 
then  he'll  be  aisy  enough." 


MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY.  193 

"Oh,  we  don't  want  to  kill  him  until  the 
others  have  seen  him.  The  doctor  may 
want  to  make  some  experiment  on  him." 

"Faith,  thin,  an'  Oi  wish  he  would,  to 
pay  the  ugly  gossoon  for  the  experiment  he 
played  on  me." 

"Ha!  Ha!  Ha!  Well,  never  mind,  Pat, 
but  if  you  will  give  us  a  bit  of  lunch,  we 
will  eat  and  be  off  again,"  and  after  they 
had  refreshed  themselves  with  their  early 
lunch,  they  started  forth  again,  as  boldly  as 
if  they  had  the  entire  day  yet  before  them. 

"I  don't  think  we  had  best  try  and  climb 
the  mountains  to-day;  what  do  \^ou  think, 
Joe?" 

"I'm  a  little  afraid  we  would  not  more 
than  get  to  the  top  of  them  before  dark; 
we  might  go  around  the  base  of  the  first 
peak  and  see  what  kind  of  looking  place 
there  is  between  this  and  the  next  one." 

"  Very  well,  we  will  keep  a  little  more  to 
the  right  and  go  around  that  slope;  we 
can  keep  up  a  little,  striking  just  below  that 
green  spot,"  said  Tom,  pointing  to  a  patch 

13 


194  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

of  small  firs.  This  was  their  objective 
point,  and  they  walked  rapidly  until  they 
reached  it.  Beyond  them  to  the  left  was 
a  gulch,  which  came  from  between  two 
mountains. 

"Let's  follow  up  this  and  see  what  we 
shall  find,"  suggested  Tom,  and  on  they 
went,  chatting  merrily  about  the  fun  they 
were  going  to  have  with  the  porcupine, 
before  the  poor  animal  should  be  executed. 
They  saw  several  bands  of  mountain  sheep 
climbing  over  steep  trails  up  the  sides  of  the 
mountains,  for  now  the  ravine  had  become 
a  deep,  gloomy  canyon,  whose  rocky  sides 
were  the  haunt  and  delight  of  these  sure- 
footed beasts.  The  boys  had  been  getting 
pretty  well  up,  although  the  ascent  had 
been  so  gradual  they  had  hardly  noticed  it. 

"We  have  gone  about  far  enough  from 
camp,"  remarked  Tom. 

Stopping  to  rest  and  turning  about,  they 
looked  down  the  ravine  through  which  they 
had  just  come.  There  on  the  prairie,  and 
heading  right  in  the  direction  of  the  mouth 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  195 

of  the  ravine,  the  boys  saw  six  or  seven 
Indians. 

"My  goodness!  Tom,  what  if  those  were 
to  be  hostiles,  coming  up  here?  "  exclaimed 
Joe. 

"They  might  be,  but  I  hope  not;  no 
matter  whether  they  are  on  the  war-path 
or  not,  the  chances  are  they  are  none  too 
good,"  answered  Tom. 

"Look!  They  have  discovered  our  tracks. 
They  are  getting  off  their  ponies  now!" 

"Yes,  they  certainty  have  seen  our  foot 
prints;  seethe  motions  that  fellow  is  mak- 
ing for  them  to  come  up  this  way." 

"That  is  just  what  he  is  doing.  How 
many  do  you  make  of  them?  " 

"There  are  seven  of  them,  1  think:  one 
looks  like  a  half-breed ;  at  least,  he  is  all 
dressed  in  buckskin  and  seems  to  be  giving 
orders  to  the  rest,"  replied  Tom,  who  held 
the  field  glass  to  his  eyes. 

"We  are  in  a  fix  now." 

"That's  what  we  are." 


196  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

" My  goodness!  What  are  we  going  to 
do?  "  and  the  boj^s  looked  blankly  at  each 
other,  neither  being  able  to  answer  the 
important  question,  and  the  frowning  rocks 
on  either  side  looked  worse  than  discourag- 
ing. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"We  are  caught  like  mice  in  a  trap," 
sighed  Tom,  ruefully. 

"Not  yet,  though;  they  are  over  a  mile 
away  yet,"  replied  Joe,  looking  longingly 
up  the  sides  of  the  almost  perpendicular  cliff 
on  the  left,  which  prevented  them  from 
starting  immediately  back  to  camp. 

"Not  that  way,  we  have  either  to  go  on 
up  this  canyon  until  we  can  climb  up  to  the 
left,  or  else  we  had  best  climb  up  here,  to 
our  right,  as  it's  not  too  steep  now." 

"That  will  take  us  further  from  camp." 

"We  can  climb  up  here  to  the  right  easily 
enough  and  when  we  get  to  that  ledge  up 
there,  we  may  find  better  footing  back  of  it, 
and  possibly,  we  can  then  see  our  way  out 
of  this,"  said  Tom,  hurriedly. 

"That's  the  best  we  can  do." 

"It's  all    rock  here,   and    those  •  Indians 

197 


198  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

can't  see  our  tracks  as  they  could  down 
there  in  that  sand." 

"They  can't  ride  up  there  on  their  ponies, 
and  with  this  start  we  have  of  them,  if  the 
ground  above  is  not  too  bad,  we  can  give 
them  the  slip;  no  use  getting  frightened, " 
said  Joe. 

"Well,  come  on,  and  be  careful  not  to 
move  a  rock  nor  touch  a  bush,  and  they'll 
never  know  we've  left  the  bottom  of  the 
canyon,"  and  with  renewed  courage  the 
boys  sprang  nimbly  from  rock  to  rock,  and 
were  soon  up  on  the  ledge  they  had  seen 
from  below. 

"Whew  !  That's  a  climb ;  here  is  splendid 
traveling,  and  if  we  were  only  on  the  other 
side  of  this  canyon  we  could  soon  run  over 
that  slope  there  and  be  in  camp  in  no  time," 
cried  Joe. 

"But  we  are  not,  and  we've  no  time  to 
lose  in  tiwing  to  get  there;  we  must  hurry 
along  to  the  head  of  this  can3Ton,  without 
their  being  able  to  get  up.  These  narrow 
canyons    alwa}Ts  start    abruptly,"    replied 


MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY.  199 

Tom,  as  he  dashed  along  after  Joe,  for  they 
had  now  hastened  into  a  quick  run,  as  the 
footing  was  exceedingly  good. 

"This  side  of  the  can\^on  is  getting  as 
steep  as  the  other,"  remarked  Joe. 

"Oh,  if  the  canyon  only  has  perpendicular 
walls  at  the  head  of  it,  we  are  all  right ;  it  is 
fast  growing  narrower." 

"Yes,  and  I  think  ahead,  there,  it  surely 
ends,  where  all  that  green  timber  is ;  those 
trees  don't  grow  in  mid  air." 

"I  hope  so,  I'm  getting  tired,"  replied 
Tom,  who  was  straining  his  eyes  so 
intently  ahead,  that  he  stumbled  and  nearly 
fell. 

"Look  out  where  you're  going,"  called 
Joe,  who  stopped  to  permit  Tom's  catch- 
ing up  to  him. 

"I  hope  we  can  get  around  there,  and  I 
hope  the  Indians  did  not  see  us  climbing 
up." 

"  Oh  !    They  never  saw  us,  I'm  sure." 

"I  hope  not;  if  they  did  we  will  know  it 
when  we  get  to  the  head  of  this  canyon." 


200  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"If  they  did  we  can  give  them  the  slip 
among  those  rocks  and  trees,"  added  Joe, 
who  was  more  self-reliant  than  Tom. 

On  the  boys  ran,  whenever  the  ground 
would  allow  of  it,  and  at  length  they 
reached  the  green  timber  they  had  seen. 
Fortunateljr,  the  canyon  had  as  abrupt  a 
beginning  as  they  had  hoped  for.  If  they 
had  kept  in  the  bottom  of  it,  the}r  would 
have  been  run  into  a  corner,  from  which  the 
perpendicular  walls  would  have  permitted 
no  escape.  Where  the\r  went  around  the 
head  of  this  canyon  the  ground  was  very 
rough,  consisting  of  washed  granite 
boulders  which  might  have  been  the  bed  of 
a  stream,  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  rush- 
ing torrents  from  melting  snowbanks  in  the 
spring  found  an  eas}r  course  along  here  and 
delighted  in  the  perpendicular  plunge  of 
several  hundred  feet,  to  the  basin  of  the 
canyon  down  below. 

" Hurrah!  What  luck,"  shouted  Tom, 
joyfully,  as  he  skipped  from  rock  to  rock, 
for,  as  he  afterward  confessed,  when  down 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  201 

in  that  dark,  gloomy  canyon  his  feelings 
were  of  the  most  somber  shade. 

"Keep  quiet,  Tom,  don't  hoot  till  yon 
are  out  of  the  woods/'  whispered  the  cau- 
tious Joe. 

"But  they  can't  possibly  catch  us  now; 
that  side  of  the  canyon  has  been  too  steep 
for  a  cat  to  climb  up,  and  this  side  we  have 
been  following  has  been  almost  perpendicu- 
lar ever  since  we  left  that  place  we  came 
up." 

"If  we  have  no  mishap,  we  are  all  right." 

"Come  on,  let's  run  where  we  can!  "  and 
away  they  went,  making  as  good  use  of 
their  legs  as  they  knew  how,  never  going 
near  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff  until  they  had 
reached  a  point  nearly  opposite  to  the  place 
they  had  climbed  up. 

"About  here  we  Avant  to  strike  over  for 
that  slope,  and  then  I  think  we'll  have  a 
bee  line  to  camp." 

"  I'm  going  to  crawl  close  to  the  edge  here 
and    have    a   look    down    to    see    what's 


202  MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY. 

below,"  said  Tom,  as  they  both  stopped  to 
breathe  a  moment. 

"I  don't  think  I  would,  those  fellows 
might  be  looking  up  and  they  have  eyes 
like  hawks,  }rou  know,"  replied  Joe,  leaning 
against  the  trunk  of  a  tree  and  wiping  the 
perspiration  from  his  forehead.  The  day 
was  exceedingly  warm,  and  he  had  exerted 
himself  to  the  utmost. 

"I'll  not  expose  mj^self  at  all,  but  I'd  like 
to  know  what  they  are  doing;  they  must  be 
below  us  by  this  time." 

"Be  careful,  now,  and  don't  knock  any 
rocks  down,"  cautioned  Joe,  but  his  words 
were  uttered  at  the  very  instant  that  Tom 
started  back,  his  foot  having  loosened  an 
immense  boulder,  which  went  crashing 
down  below,  carrying  tons  of  rock  before 
it,  that  had  needed  but  a  slight  touch  to 
tumble.  Down  the  mass  went,  crashing! 
smashing!  sending  a  thousand  echoes 
through  the  quiet  camion  and  as  many 
fears  through  the  boj^s'  hearts. 


A 


1  ■  ■■  ^im, 


TOM    STARTED    BACK,  HIS    FOOT    HAVING    LOOSENED    A    HUGE    BOULDER 
"WHICH  WENT  CRASHING  DOWN  BELOW.  —  Page  202. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  205 

"I  knew  3^ou'd  do  it,"  exclaimed  Joe, 
snatching  up  his  rifle  which  he  had  laid  at 
his  feet. 

"Yes,  'I  told  yon  so,'  why  don't  you 
say?" 

"It's  no  use  awing  over  spilt  milk.  We 
can't  be  more  than  four  or  five  miles  from 
camp,  and  after  we  get  over  that  slope,  I 
know  we'll  have  a  smooth  down  grade  run, 
and  no  fear  of  them  following  us  ver}r  close 
to  camp." 

"That's  so;  I  wish  now  I'd  stopped  to 
see  down  in  the  canyon  after  all." 

"It's  better  to  waste  no  time;  those 
fellows  can  run  a  pretty  good  foot  race." 

"Hurry  on,  then!  No  time  to  tarry!" 
shouted  Tom,  as  he  dashed  ahead  of  Joe. 

The  top  of  the  slope  was  soon  reached 
and  the  bo3rs  saw  that  the^-  had  kept  the 
lay  of  the  country  pretty  well,  for  down 
below  them,  lay  the  camp  and  in  a  short 
space  of  time,  considering  the  exertions  they 
had  undergone,  they  found  themselves  in 
the  midst  of  their  companions. 


206  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Ha!  Ha!  Ha! "  laughed  Hugill,  after 
the  boys  had  told  of  their  adventure,  "3'ou 
fellows  must  have  been  badly  frightened, 
ye  know.  I'm  blessed  if  I  think  3^ou  saw 
any  Indians  at  all,  not  more  than  one,  }'e 
know.  Come,  now,  own  up,  honor  bright, 
lads." 

"Oh!  I  could  count  them  easily  through 
my  field  glass,  and  could  see  them  making 
signs." 

"'Ten  men  in  buckram,'  said  Falstafif.  I 
think  it's  one  on  you  fellows,  ye  know. 
Why  didn't  you  kill  a  few  of  them,  instead 
of  tumbling  rocks  down  at  them,  as  if  they 
were  frogs  in  a  pond  ?  "  taunted  Hugill. 

"I  am  very  glad  you  did  not  come  to 
grief,  and  it  shows  me  that  I  was  very  care 
less  in  letting  you  go  off  until  our  scouts 
had  reconnoitered  the  country  to  see  that 
there  were  no  prowlers  about,"  said  Dr. 
Goon,  seriously. 

"  We  might  ask  for  a  company  of  infantry 
to  escort  them  the  next  time,  ye  know," 
said  Hugill,  with  a  sneer. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  207 

"It  were  better  to  do  so  than  to  have 
harm  befall  them.  You  may  dispatch  that 
poor  brute  under  the  wagon  and  take  his 
hide  off  as  carefully  as  you  can,"  returned 
the  doctor. 

" That's  a  beastly  job!  Why  not  let  the 
bo}^s  tackle  him?  "  growled  Hugill,  looking 
at  the  porcupine  with  a  frown. 

"Oh!  'Ten  men  in  buckram !'  He'll  not 
hurt  you  any;  hire  a  soldier,  Mr.  Hugill," 
laughed  Tom,  jumping  over  a  couple  of 
sacks  of  grain  that  had  been  used  as  a  seat 
at  the  supper  table. 

"I  want  the  boys  to  go  down  to  the 
astronomical  part}''s  camp  and  bring  up 
the  remains  of  a  big  reptile  that  some  of  the 
men  there  killed  to-day.  I  saw  it  there.  You 
can  ask  them  about  it.  It  is  a  very  peculiar 
looking  snake;  we  have  nothing  like  it,  nor 
have  we  given  much  attention  to  ophiology 
of  late,"  said  the  doctor. 

"All  right,  doctor,  shall  we  go  now?" 
asked  Tom,  winking  at  Joe. 


208  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Yes." 

'  'Can't  we  wait  half  an  hour  or  so?  " 

"What  do  you  want  to  wait  here  for?" 
asked  the  doctor,  removing  his  wig  and 
rubbing  his  hand  around  and  around  his 
bald  head  as  if  to  give  it  an  extra  polish. 

"I  wanted  to  wait  and  see  Mr.  Hugill 
skin  that  porcupine,"  replied  Tom,  laughing 
uproariously. 

"Run  on,  run  on,  you  rascals,  and  mind 
your  own  business,  or  I'll  skin  it  myself." 

After  the  boys  reached  the  camp  they  had 
no  trouble  in  finding  the  snake,  and  were 
about  returning  when  Major  Troxwell 
came  riding  in,  with  a  half  dozen  or  more  of 
their  Indian  scouts  trailing  along  single  file 
behind  him.  The  major  recognized  his  son, 
and  at  once  called  to  him  : 

"Hullo,   Thomas!   This  way,  sir !  " 
Tom  dropped  his  end  of  the    pole    on 
which  they  were  canwing  the  snake,  allow- 
ing the  reptile  to  slide  to  the  ground,  and 
hastened  to  meet  his  father. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  209 

"Well,  father,  did  you  want  me?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  wanted  the  privilege  of  a  few 
moments'  conversation  with  you,"  replied 
the  major,  sternly,  but  with  that  quizzical 
look  of  good  nature  commingled  with  a 
father's  admiration  for  an  only  son,  which 
always  robbed  his  severest  tones  of  their 
poignancy  when  speaking  to  Tom. 

"Well,  sir?"  said  Tom,  respectfully,  for 
when  his  father  spoke  thus  he  was  the 
soldier  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  much  to 
his  father's  hidden  delight. 

"Don't  '  well,  sir,'  me!  If  it  were  anyone 
else  I'd  have  you  both  put  in  irons  and 
allow  you  to  carry  the  log  on  your 
shoulders  for  twenty-four  hours !  " 

"Why,  sir,  I  don't  understand  you.  What 
do  you  mean?"  asked  Tom,  looking  very 
much  perplexed. 

"What  did  you  do  it  for?  Don't  you 
know  that  jokes  of  that  kind  often  get 
people  into  trouble  ?  " 

"But  I   assure    }rou,   sir,   I  don't  know 


210  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

what  you  mean,"  said  Tom,  recalling  all 
past  capers  but  feeling  certain  that  even 
those  which  might  have  reached  his  father's 
ears  would  not  have  been  remembered 
over  night. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"  You  will  be  telling  me  next  that  you  boys 
did  not  roll  those  rocks  down  on  us.  I  saw 
you  with  my  glass  going  up  in  that  ravine 
and  recognized  you!  "  said  the  major,  look- 
ing at  Tom,  and  wondering  if  he  had  been 
mistaken  after  all. 

"Good  gracious!  father,  was  it  you  with 
those  Indians?  " 

"It  was,  sir,  and  it  made  no  difference 
who  it  was,  it  might  have  killed  some  of  us 
if  we  had  been  a  moment  later  in  passing 
that  spot.  You  ought  to  have  known  bet- 
ter ;  a  bit  of  rock  as  large  as  a  walnut  fall- 
ing that  distance  might  kill  a  man." 

"I'm  awful  glad  you  weren't  hurt,  but  I 
assure  you,  sir,  the  rocks  were  an  accident." 

"An  accident!  They  came  near  causing 
one." 


212  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"  Well,  I  assure  you,  we  did  not  intend 
rolling  those  rocks  down ;  }-ou  see  it  was 
this  way :  Joe  and  I  went  up  the  ravine, 
and  when  we  got  to  where  we  could  look 
down  on  the  prairie,  we  saw  you  coming 
up,  and  }rou,  in  that  suit  of  buckskin,  I 
mistook  for  a  half-breed,  with  some  hostile 
Indians.  I  knew,  of  course,  you  had  a  suit 
of  buckskin,  but  3'6u  have  not  been  wearing 
it  lately." 

"Then,  as  I  look  like  a  half-breed  in  it  I 
think  I  had  best  not  wear  it  any  more." 

"Now,  father,  you  know  I  did  not  mean 
that,  but  with  those  Indians  away  over 
there,  where  we  thought  we  were  all  alone, 
and-" 

"Yes,  I  see,  you  fellows  were  frightened, 
and  hurried  out  of  there.  But  how  did  you 
get  up  out  of  that  miserable  place  ?  We  lost 
your  tracks  on  the  rock}'  ground,  and  the 
scouts  were  all  certain  that  }'ou  were  just 
ahead  of  us.  We  could  not  get  up  when 
we  came  to  the  end  nor  could  a  squirrel.' ' 


AN   ACCIDENT?      THEY'CAME   NEAR   CAUSING   ONE  !  "—Page  211. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  215 

"We  climbed  up  on  the  far  side  about 
opposite  to  where  the  rocks  fell  and  then 
went  around." 

"Oh!  That  was  it.  I  depended  on  the 
Indians  and  they  kept  saying  you  must  be 
just  ahead  of  us  until  we  had  to  turn  back, 
but  you  must  have  traveled  prettj' briskly.' ' 

"You  know  what  we  took  your  party  for. 
I  think  the  joke  is  decidedly  on  us,"  said 
Tom,  with  a  smile,  and  his  father  broke  out 
into  a  hearty  laugh. 

"I'm  afraid  you've  incurred  the  ill  will  of 
m3'  scouts,  for  they  were  very  much  fright- 
ened when  those  rocks  tumbled." 

"I  don't  care  anything  about  their  ill 
will." 

"But  you  should.  It  is  better  to  have  the 
good  opinion  of  all." 

"That's  where  you  and  I  differ,  father.  I 
think  you  care  the  least  for  the  good 
opinion  of  anybody,  yet  strive  the  hardest 
to  obtain  it,  of  any  one  I  know." 

"Rather  an  anomalous  disposition  you 
seem  to  think  I  have.     But  you  will  find  it's 


216  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

the  way  of  mankind.  In  our  youth  we  care 
most  for  it,  yet  do  the  least  to  deserve  it. 
If  you  boys  actually  mistook  us  for  hostiles 
you  have  certainly  had  the  worst  of  it. 
You  may  go,  my  son." 

"  If  you'd  seen  us  getting  away  from  there, 
3'ou'd  have  thought  we  were  in  earnest," 
declared  Tom,  as  he  left  his  father  and  hur- 
ried back  to  where  Joe  stood  contemplating 
the  snake. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  Your  father  looked 
provoked  about  something,"  questioned 
Joe,  as  he  slid  the  small  pole  under  the  snake 
to  carry  it. 

"Oh!  no,  that's  just  his  way,  but  we've 
got  our  foot  into  it,  now.  Who  do  you 
think  our  hostile  Indians  were,  that  chased 
us  to-day  ?" 

"Who?" 

"Father  and  some  of  his  scouts,  who 
were  prowling  about  there,  to  find  a  good 
place  to  set  up  his  instruments,  to  take 
observations." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  217 

"Well,  I  declare!"  exclaimed  Joe,  raising 
his  hands  in  surprise,  forgetting  that  one  of 
them  held  the  pole. 

"Oh!  Ah!  Don't!  You'll  have  the  nasty 
thing  on  me!"  shouted  Tom,  dropping  his 
end  entirely  and  jumping  back. 

"He'll  not  hurt  you,  but  Tom,  you  really 
don't  mean  that,  do  you?  You're  only 
joking;   I  know  you,  like  a  book." 

"No,  I'm  not  joking,  it's  true  enough, and 
when  those  rocks  fell,  they  were  right  below 
us,  and  came  very  near  getting  hurt. 
Father  recognized  us  with  his  glass,  and 
followed  up  the  canyon  to  the  end  of  it,  and 
then  thej-  had  to  go  back  ;  he  did  not  know 
how  we  got  out,  that's  the  best  of  the 
joke." 

"The  best  of  the  joke  we'll  hear  from 
Hugill.  He'll  say,  'only  one  man  in  buck- 
skin',  now." 

"That's  so!  What  fools  we've  made  of 
ourselves!  "  groaned  Tom,  looking  clismalh- 
at  Joe,  who  was  trying  to  balance  the  snake 
over  the  pole,  but  every  attempt  proved  one 


218  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

half  or  the  other  to  be  the  heavier,  and 
made  the  reptile  slide  to  the  ground  again. 

"Run  over  and  beg  your  father  not  to 
tell  it,"  suggested  Joe. 

"That  would  do  no  good;  wild  horses 
would  not  keep  him  from  telling  the  joke  to 
the  doctor,"  and  now  the  snake  appeared 
satisfied  in  its  adjustment  and  the  boys 
started  on  again. 

"Then  we  must  take  the  wind  out  of  his 
sails  by  telling  Dr.  Goon,  and  throwing  our- 
selves on  his  mercy,  beg  him  not  to  tell 
Hugill  of  it  for  he  will  plague  us  forever 
about  it." 

"That's  the  best  way;  we  must  play  the 
amiable  to  Mr.  Hugill  for  a  few  days,  and 
if  he  should  hear  of  it  he  would  not  be  so 
spiteful." 

"All  right,  we  might  offer  to  skin  this 
snake  for  him  to-night;  that  would  make 
his  heart  warm  toward  us,"  suggested  Joe. 

"Ugh!  I'll  never  try  to  skin  another  snake; 
the  last  one  I  cut  into  made  me  sick  for  three 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  219 

days,"  replied  Tom,  making  counterfeit  indi- 
cations of  being  very  ill. 

"  Well,  I'll  skin  him.  I'd  just  as  lief  skin 
him  as  to  skin  an  eel." 

"  You  would  ?    Well,  you  may." 

"All  right,  I  will,"  and  he  was  faithful  to 
his  word,  for  as  soon  as  they  deposited  the 
specimen  on  a  wide  board  back  of  the  doc- 
tor's tent,  that  they  called  the  dissecting 
table,  Joe  went  to  work  at  him  and  deprived 
him  of  his  scaly  hide. 

The  doctor  was  so  pleased,  that  after 
hearing  Joe's  confession  he  readity  consented 
to  refrain  from  speaking  of  it  to  Mr.  Hugill, 
and  in  this  way  the  boys  evaded  his  sarcas- 
tic remarks  and  taunting  jeers. 

"This  is  a  wonderful  group  of  mountains, 
and  many  might  envy  you  your  good  for- 
tune, in  being  the  first  explorers  of  them," 
remarked  Dr.  Goon  the  next  morning  at  the 
breakfast  table,  as  he  helped  himself  to  a 
piece  of  antelope  steak. 

"Why,  doctor,  you  don't  suppose  we're 
the  first  explorers  here,  do  you?"   queried 


220  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

Joe,  his  big  eyes  opening  wide  with  aston- 
ishment. 

" No,  not  exactly  the  first  wThite  men  in 
here,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  very  few  have 
been  here  before;  some  stray  hunter  may 
have  hunted  here  a  da\r  or  two,  but  this  is 
the  great  disputed  hunting  ground  of  the 
Indians,  it  being  claimed  by  the  Sioux 
nations  on  the  south  and  the  confedera- 
tions of  Blackfcet  and  Crows  on  the  north, 
smaller  tribes  like  the  Mandan,  Gros 
Ventre,  and  Crees  never  daring  to  come  so 
near.  By  the  way,  the  major  told  me  last 
night  that  a  scout  brought  in  news  of  the 
finding  of  where  quite  a  battle  has  taken 
place,  within  a  month,  and  there  are 
twenty-one  dead  Indians  lying  on  the  spot 
now." 

"  Where?   Where ?"  exclaimed  all. 

"  About  twenty  miles  west  of  this." 

"Twenty-one  dead  Indians!  That's 
twenty-one  good  Indians,  and  it  would  be 
quite  a  sight  to  see,  ye  know,"  said  Hugill. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  221 

"A  horrible  sight,  most  likely,  and  I  hope 
we  don't  have  to  go  near  it,"  answered 
the  doctor. 

"Faith,  an'  more's  the  pity  the  durty  div- 
ils  didn't  end  it  loike  the  Kilkenny  cats, bad 
'cess  to  the  spalpeens,"  contributed  Pat,  as 
he  replenished  the  large  platter  with  hot, 
juicy  steaks  from  that  nimble  little  animal 
that  furnishes  the  finest  meat  of  any  game. 

"  I'm  going  to  try  one  more  of  those  steaks, 
Pat.  Antelope  cooked  over  a  wood  fire  dis- 
counts buffalo  hump  cooked  over  that  abom- 
inable fuel  we've  had  to  use  lately." 

"  Pat  sa\rs  that  he  is  going  to  give  us  a 
famous  roast  to-daj'  if  that  porcupine  is 
anything  like  a  pig." 

"  If  not,  it  may  remind  you  slightly  of  the 
pork  you  pine  for,  eh,  boys?  Ha!  Ha!  Ha!" 
laughed  the  doctor. 

u  I  consider  that  a  base  usurpation  of 
power,  ye  know,  a  despotic  thrust  at  our 
liberties  ;  blessed  if  any  one  else  would  have 
dared  to  make  such  a  pun,  ye  know,  "cried 
Hugill. 


222  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"I  must  beg  pardon  for  it,  and  shall  pay 
the  fine  agreed  upon." 

"Oh,  we'll  let  you  off  this  time,  doctor," 
said  Tom. 

"Yes,  if  he'll  promise  not  to  do  it  again," 
added  Hugill,  as  they  all  left  the  table. 

Tom  and  Joe  made  no  remonstrance  when 
told  to  prospect  about  the  mountains  dur- 
ing the  day  b}-  the  doctor,  and  Hugill  notic- 
ing this  strange  incongruity,  remarked  to 
the  doctor  that  the  boys  must  have  been 
frightened  at  their  shadows  the  day  before, 
or  they  would  not  be  so  well  pleased  at 
having  to  revisit  the  spot  so  soon,  but  the 
merry  twinkle  in  the  doctor's  e}'es  as  he 
adjusted  his  wig  more  to  his  satisfaction  on 
his  head,  as  was  his  wont  when  thinking 
deepW  on  a  subject,  disclosed  nothing.  It 
was  nearly  noon  when  the  boj^s  found  them- 
selves beyond  the  first  mountain  peak 
which  had,  as  yet,  disclosed  no  favorable 
ascent,  and  a  deeply  timbered  slope  beyond 
looked  so  inviting  that  they  entered  it, 
walking   carefully  along,   watching   for    a 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  223 

startled  deer  or  elk  whose  tracks  were  very 
plentiful. 

"I  think  we've  gone  far  enough," 
remarked  Joe,  as  they  came  to  an  opening 
in  the  timber. 

"Well,  let's  cross  this  place  and  have  a 
look  down  that  gulch  over  there,"  sug- 
gested Tom. 

"Agreed,  and  then  we  turn  back." 

"All  right,"  and  they  continued  on  their 
journey  of  exploration;  coming  to  the  gulch 
they  found  the  timber  less  dense. 

"  What's  that  down  there,  Joe?  " 

"That's  so;  looks  like  some  Indian  te- 
pees to  me." 

"No  false  alarm  this  time." 

"Those  are  queer  looking  lodges,  and  now 
they  seem  to  be  made  of  buffalo  robes.  I 
declare,  they  are  made  of  robes,  and  the 
finest  kind  of  ones,  too,"  cried  Joe,  looking 
through  the  glass. 

"But  there  are  no  signs  of  any  one  about, 
are  there? " 


224  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"No,  not  the  slightest,  no  signs  of  a  fire 
or  anything  else  about;  it  is  perfecth- 
deserted." 

"We  can  go  down  to  that  next  point  of 
rocks  and  crawl  up  close,  to  make  sure,  and, 
if  it  is  a  deserted  camp,  we  may  as  well  have 
those  fine  robes,"  saying  which  the  boys 
picked  their  way  carefully  to  the  next  point 
of  rocks,  and  cautiously  creeping  along, 
hiding  behind  the  large  trees,  they  managed 
to  get  quite  close. 

"How  still  it  is!  If  any  Indians  were 
about  we'd  hear  their  dogs  or  pappooses 
making  a  noise,"  said  Joe. 

"  Good  gracious,  Joe !  Look !  Look  at  the 
robes  now!" 


CHAPTER   XV. 

"  The  robes !  Well,  for  goodness  sake,  what 
queer  looking  buffalo  robes !  How  the  curly 
hair  seems  to  shake  and  tremble  in  the 
wind!"  exclaimed  Joe,  standing  up  in  full 
view. 

"I'll  risk  there  being  am^one  here," 
declared  Tom,  advancing,  with  his  rifle  at 
full  cock. 

"Two  of  those  tepees  are  very  small." 

"Yes,  but  those  robes  are  the  queerest 
looking  things  I  ever  saw.  I  don't  believe 
they  are  robes  at  all,  they  are  nothing  but 
dried  leaves! " 

"Well!  That's  a  fact;  they  have  woven 
willows  with  the  leaves  on,  into  the  lodge 
poles!" 

"That's  all  they  are.  I  thought  it  funny 
if  they  were  buffalo  robes." 

"Well,  they  looked  just  like  robes;  but  I 
don't  see  any  openings  in  these  things." 

15  225 


226  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"No  way  to  get  into  them  at  all." 

"You  see  there  are  no  signs  of  any  one's 
having  lived  here;  the  grass  shows  no  signs 
of  a  path,  nor  even  having  been  stepped  on." 

"No,  nor  is  there  a  trace  of  any  fire  ever 
having  been  made." 

"Not  a  trace!" 

"This  looks  mighty  queer." 

"Mighty  queer,"  assented  Joe,  looking 
about  him  for  a  solution  to  the  mystery. 

"This  has  been  made  by  Indians,"  Tom 
declared,  looking  very  wise. 

"Of  course  it  has,  but  when  and  what  for, 
is  the  question." 

"It  can't  have  been  done  more  than  a 
month  ago  or  these  leaves  would  not  be 
hanging  yet,  nor  much  less  or  they  would 
not  be  so  dried." 

"What's  that  hanging  to  the  long  pole  of 
this  big  one?"  asked  Joe,  pointing  up  to 
one  long  slim  pole  that  pointed  off  to  the 
east. 

"  It  looks  like  a  bundle  of  old  rags." 

"These  tepees  are  like  wicker  baskets,  and 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  227 

I'm  going  to  see  what's  inside  of  them,"  and 
Joe,  going  up  to  one  of  the  small  ones  tore 
an  opening  in  the  closely  woven  willow 
withes. 

"  Nothing  in  this  but  dried  leaves,"  reported 
Tom,  who  followed  Joe's  example  and  was 
tearing  into  the  other  small  one. 

"That's  all  I've  iound  here;  let's  tackle 
the  big  one." 

"We  are  putting  modern  improvements 
in  them,  in  the  shape  of  windows,"  laughed 
Tom,  as  they  went  over  to  the  largest  tepee 
and  with  little  ceremony  tore  a  hole  in  it 
that  would  have  done  very  well  for  a  door. 

"We'll  show  the  architect  of  these  struc- 
tures that  he  did  not  know  it  all." 

"I  don't  see  what  they  could  have  used 
these  for,  certainh^  not  to  live  in." 

"Rather  ethereal  castles." 

"Some  romantic  Romeo  of  a  Blackfoot 
may  have  eloped  with  a  dusky  Juliet  of  a 
Sioux,  and  spent  the  honeymoon  here," 
suggested  Tom,  laughing. 

"Quite  likely,  and   killed  and  buried   old 


228  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

Capulet  right  under  this  wicker  monument, 
for  here's  a  gun,  which  looks  as  if  it  were 
used  in  his  time,"  cried  Joe,  dragging  a  rust}r 
old  flint  lock  musket  oiit  from  among  the 
pile  of  dried  leaves  inside. 

"  Hurrah  for  Guy  Fawkcs  !  "  shouted  Tom, 
seizing  the  gun,  and  in  trying  to  take  it  away 
from  Joe  he  pulled  the  old  stock  from  the 
barrel. 

"These  things  are  graves,  and  ifanlndian 
were  to  catch  us  here,  he  would  kill  us;  even 
one  of  our  own  scouts  would  make  a  great 
fuss." 

"  Goodness  !  I'm  more  afraid  of  the  defunct; 
he  may  have  died  of  small  pox!  " 

"  Whew  !  That's  so,let'sleave  these  things 
and  make  tracks  out  of  this." 

"I'm  glad  I  was  vaccinated  lately;  were 
you?" 

"Yes,  only  last  spring.  Oh,  I  don't  care 
for  that,  but  do  you  suppose  these  are  really 
graves? " 

"Of  course  they  are;  that's  the  way  they 
bury  their  dead.    That  bunch  of  rags  repre- 


MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY.  229 

sents  scalps  taken  by  a  big  brave.  They 
kill  a  couple  of  horses  so  that  he  will  have 
something  to  ride  in  the  happy  hunting- 
grounds,  and  \ay  his  best  rifle  on  the  grave, 
but  as  I've  been  told  they  don't  leave  it; 
his  relatives  sneak  in  and  change  it  for  a 
worthless  one." 

"Well,  let's  get  away  from  here;  those 
dead  fellows  are  worse  than  the  live  ones," 
repeated  Joe,  and  then  they  hurried  down 
the  gulch. 

"I  think  this  will  bring  us  out  on  the  west 
side  of  the  mountains  again,  don't  you, 
Joe?" 

"It  is  sure  to  take  us  out  of  the  mountains 
if  we  keep  following  it  down  hill." 

"  Of  course,  but  it  may  be  taking  us  in  the 
wrong  direction." 

"Well,  we  can  climb  up  toward  that  pass 
between  those  two  peaks  over  there,  and  I 
think  from  there  we  can  go  down  the  other 
side  and  straight  to  camp." 

It  was  much  farther  than  the  boys  had 
supposed,  and  in  places  very  rocky.     When 


230  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

they  reached  the  main  divide  they  found 
themselves  on  a  beautiful  grassy  spot, 
between  two  rough,  jagged  peaks.  In  the 
narrowest  place  this  level  spot  was  not 
more  than  two  hundred  feet  wide. 

"We  are  up  pretty-  high,  here/'  remarked 
Tom,  as  he  glanced  up  at  the  mountain  tops 
on  either  side  of  them,  and  then  took  a  sur- 
vey of  the  immense  stretch  of  prairie  rolling 
out  for  hundreds  of  miles  beyond  them,  dot- 
ted here  and  there  with  herds  of  buffalo.  To 
the  west  of  them,  they  could  see  the  grand 
old  range,  which  few  have  seen  to  greater 
advantage  than  from  this  particular  point. 

"What  a  view  !  What  a  magnificent  view !  " 
exclaimed  Tom,  removing  his  hat  as  if  the 
solemn  grandeur  called  for  some  mark  of 
reverence. 

"Oh,  what  a  magnificent  sight!  One  hun- 
dred and  fort3T-five  miles  due  west  from  us, 
and  those  peaks  to  the  northwest  sinking 
out  of  sight  from  the  mere  immensity  of  dis- 
tance must  be  two  or  three  hundred  miles 
away.     Who  can  tell  how  far  those  distant, 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  231 

hazy  mountains  are?"  said  Joe,  who  took 
an  artist's  delight  in  a  scene  like  this. 

"What  lots  of  snow  on  those  to  the 
north!" 

''Yes,  those  peaks  tip  there  must  be  much 
higher  than  those  on  our  side  of  the  line.  I 
suppose  that  snow  never  melts. " 

"Probably  not;  that  must  be  Chief 
Mountain,  that  big  square  topped  one  due 
west  of  us." 

"Yes,  that  must  be  it  from  the  descriptions 
I've  heard  of  it,  and  what  a  monument  to 
mark  our  boundary  !  " 

"Nature  anticipated  the  subdivision  of 
these  two  great  countries." 

"Yes,  it  looks  that  way.  Look!  See  that 
band  of  mountain  sheep  coming  this  way! 
They  intend  coming  through  this  pass.  We 
can  hide  in  this  long  grass  and  they  are  sure 
to  come  within  easy  range  of  us,"  cried  Joe, 
and  they  both  secreted  themselves  in  the 
long  grass. 

"How  sweet  this  grass  smells,  Joe;  just 
rub  some  of  it  on  your  hands." 


232  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"That  is  more  than  fragrant,  just  like 
some  perfumes,"  replied  Joe,  in  a  whisper, 
as  he  plucked  a  handful  of  the  long,  yellow- 
ish green  grass. 

"That's  the  sweetest  thing  I  ever  smelled 
of,  and  I  would  not  wonder  if  that  is  what 
gives  the  name  to  these  hills." 

"These  are  pretty  fair  sized  mountains,  I 
should  think." 

"Only  hills  compared  to  those  massive 
heights  over  there,"  replied  Tom. 

"Raise  up  a  little  and  see  if  those  sheep  are 
heading  this  way." 

"Yes,  they  are  out  of  the  rocks  now,  and 
are  heading  this  way  all  right,  and  scatter- 
ing out,  too,"  whispered  Tom. 

"There  must  be  a  hundred  of  them." 

"More  than  that,  it's  the  largest  band  I've 
seen  \ret." 

"The  doctor  says  that  these  arenot  moun- 
tain sheep  at  all,  but  properly  speaking  the 
big  horn." 

"If  we  can  kill  one  of  them  we '11  find  out 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  235 

what  they  are;  I  dare  say  they  don't  taste 
much  like  mutton." 

"I  should  think  they  would." 

"Keep  quiet;  don't  speak  so  loud;  the 
wind  is  blowing  from  them  to  us  and  we'll 
have  a  splendid  ehanceatthem.  They  do  n't 
seem  to  be  eating  this  grass  at  all  but  are 
walking  right  along." 

"How  close  are  they  now?"  whispered 
Joe. 

"Close  enough,  now.  Get  ready;  you 
shoot  to  the  right  and  I'll  pick  one  out  to 
left,"  replied  Tom,  asthey  both  raised  them- 
selves and  with  one  knee  on  the  ground  took 
deliberate  aim  at  the  startled  animals.  It 
was  a.  fine  sight,  this  magnificent  band  of 
bighorns,  their  massive  heads  thrown  into 
the  air,  giving  warning  to  the  unconscious 
members  in  the  rear  to  turn  and  fly. 

Two  loud  reports  rang  out  into  the  still- 
ness of  the  mountain  heights  and  two  of 
the  noblest  of  the  brute  creation  stumbled 
and  fell !  A  few  useless  struggles  and  all 
was  over  for  them.     Death  had  met  them  in 


236  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

a  form  never  dreamed  of  in  their  most  timid 
moments.  That  remaining  taint  of  our 
former  barbarism  showed  itself  in  the  pleas- 
ure experienced  by  the  boys,  at  the  result  of 
their  shots. 

"  Do  n't  shoot  any  more,  Tom  !"  exclaimed 
Joe,  but  Tom  was  deaf  to  all  entreaties. 
Bang!  Bang!  Bang!  went  the  report  of 
his  rifle,  but  whether  he  hit  any  or  not  he 
never  knew ;  the  entire  herd  leaving  as  if  on 
the  wings  of  the  wind. 

"  What  a  band  of  them  !  We  ought  to  have 
killed  a  dozen,"  exclaimed  Tom,  in  a  disap- 
pointed tone. 

"And  what  for?  We  have  more  than  we 
want,"  responded  Joe,  as  they  went  over  to 
where  their  noble  quarry  lay,  staining  the 
sweet  scented  grass  with  their  crimson  life- 
blood. 

"  We  may  never  get  another  such  chance 
to  shoot  them." 

''It  does  seem  a  pity  to  kill  such  beautiful 
creatures.     What  magnificent  horns !  " 

"That  buck's  make  two  complete  turns." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  237 

"Look  at  the  size  of  it,  here,  close  to  his 
head — at  least  seven  inches  thick." 

"What  will  the  doctor  say?  He  will  be 
delighted." 

"We  have  not  gotten  them  back  to  camp 
yet,"  observed  the  practical  Joe,  taking  out 
his  knife  and  severing  the  main  artery  in 
their  throats.  He  then  proceeded  to  clean 
them. 

"We've  got  to  find  a  way  to  get  out  of 
here  that  a  mule  can  pack  over,"  said  Tom, 
as  he  held  the  animal  balanced  on  his  back. 

"I  think  if  we  follow  the  same  trail  that 
the  band  came  up  here  on,  it  will  prove  the 
best  way  down." 

"We'll  try  it,  and  if  it  takes  us  down  to 
the  prairie,  we  can  soon  find  our  way  back 
to  camp,  for  we  will  be  on  the  north  side  of 
the  hills.' ' 

"There,  that  will  do  for  the  present;  we 
will  leave  them  piled  up  here,  one  on  top  of 
the  other,  and  I'll  tie  my  handkerchief  to 
this  fellow's  horn;  that  will  keep  the  wolves 
away,"  and  then  they  both  pushed  forward 


238  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

to  find  the  trail  on  which  the  sheep  had 
come  up. 

It  is  seldom  the  downward  path  is  not 
taken  without  regret,  but  as  the  path  the 
boys  were  now  traveling  was  one  approved 
of  hy  the  dumb  brutes,  it  brought  about 
the  most  happy  results. 

"This  trail  would  be  a  good  one  for  a 
pack  train,"  remarked  Tom. 

"Yes,  but  I  believe  it's  more  tiresome 
going  down  than  it  was  climbing  up," 
answered  Joe,  as  they  both  rested  them- 
selves on  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  fir  tree. 

"We  shall  have  no  trouble  coming  up 
here  with  the  pack  mule,  shall  we?  " 

"No,  if  the  rest  of  the  way  be  as  good  as 
it  has  been  so  far.  How  many  times  the 
sheep  and  deer  must  have  trodden  this  trail 
to  have  marked  it  out  so  plainly !  " 

"  But  will  not  the  doctor  be  delighted  at 
our  game?  " 

"He  will  indeed." 

"I  think  they   will    prove  to  be  the  big 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  239 

horn,  and  that  is  what  he  is  anxious  to 
get." 

Then  being  sufficiently  rested  the  bo\^s 
picked  up  their  traps  and  followed  the  trail 
on  down  but  found  themselves  when  they 
reached  the  prairie  several  miles  from  camp. 
Their  anticipation  of  the  doctor's  delight 
found  a  complete  realization,  and  the  next 
morning  he  sent  them  back  with  a  mule 
and  teamster  under  their  orders. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

It  is  easier  to  find  a  camp  on  the  prairie 
than  it  is  to  find  the  indistinct  termination 
of  a  mountain  trail,  and  the  teamster  was 
thoroughly  disgusted  before  the  bo3rs  found 
the  path  that  had  brought  them  down  out 
of  the  heights  the  evening  before,  but  when 
found  and  fully  satisfied  that  they  were  on 
the  right  one  they  lost  no  time  in  commenc- 
ing the  ascent.  Here  and  there  they  stopped 
to  pick  ierns  and  flowers  that  grew  in  great 
profusion  in  the  rich  earth  of  the  mountain 
ravines.  The  tall  fir  trees  lent  a  grateful 
shade,  and  innumerable  springs  contributed 
to  form  the  ice  cold  rivulets  from  which  all 
were  frequently  drinking.  The  poor  water 
of  the  prairies  made  them  appreciate  this, 
the  greatest  of  nature's  gifts — good  water. 

Although  the  boys  had  grumbled  at 
coming    down    that    long    trail,   yet    they 

240 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  241 

found  much  more  objection  to  it  when  they 
made  the  ascent. 

"Wall,  boys,  whar  be  they?"  asked  the 
teamster,  who  was  a  rough  specimen  of  the 
Missouri  backwoods  type,  as  he  drew  a 
long-  breath,  on  reaching  the  top  of  the 
divide. 

"Oh!  we're  almost  there  now;  they  lie 
about  the  center  of  this  grassy  spot," 
rejoined  Tom,  who  was  himself  puffing  like 
a  young  grampus ;  indeed  the  only  one  that 
had  any  breath  left  was  the  mule,  and  this 
intelligent  animal  was  tiwing  to  express  his 
opinion  of  the  sweet  smelling  grass  about 
his  feet  with  grunts  of  dissatisfaction,  for  to 
him  it  was  as  the  apples  of  Sodom.  The 
dJicious  perfume  arising  from  this  peculiar 
grass  was  not  attractive  to  the  mule  in  a 
gastronomic  light,  and  the  disappointed 
brute  sniffed  about  among  the  roots,  but 
never  took  a  mouthful  of  it. 

"  Yeou  don't  seem  to  like  it  eny  too  much, 
eh,  old  pard?"  drawled  the  driver,  address- 
ing his  remark  to  the  mule. 

16 


242  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"  He  does  not,  for  a  fact,  nor  did  the  sheep 
yesterday  when  they  crossed  it;  they  seemed 
to  be  walking  along  smelling  of  it  and  not 
eating  it,"  remarked  Tom. 

"That  stuff  ain't  no  good,  nohow.  If  a 
mule  takes  one  smell  of  enythin'  an'  don't 
bite  at  it,  spech'ly  as  old  a  mule  as  that,  an' 
he's  all  of  forty,  then  nuthin'  '11  eat  it,  an' 
that's  what  I  say,"  said  the  driver,  giving 
this  logical  conclusion  to  his  remarks  in  the 
most  learned  wa}r. 

"Forty  3'ears!  That's  pretty  old  for  a 
mule,  is  it  not  ?  "  asked  Joe. 

"No,  'taint;  mules  live  ter  be  a  hundred, 
right  along,  if  eny  count  was  kept  of  'em. 
Yeou  never  see  a  mule  die  of  old  age?  No, 
nor  nobody  else,"  continued  the  driver, 
catching  up  the  mule's  halter  rope  and  start- 
ing him  along. 

"  Can't  say  I  ever  did,  that's  a  fact." 

"When  I  was  out  with  Custer,  last  sum- 
mer, I  had  a  mule  in  my  outfit,  they  called 
'Old  Humpy,'  and  the  men  counted  him  up 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  243 

from  the  different  years  we  had  all  druv  him 
an'  he  came  nigh  bein'  a  hundred." 

4 'And  were  }^ou  really  out  with  Gen. 
Custer?  "  asked  Tom. 

"Yes,  I  was  out  with  him  last  summer 
and  drove  the  menag'ry  wagon." 

"  What  kind  of  a  wagon  ?  " 

"The  menag'ry  wagon.  Yeou  see  Custer 
was  allers  pickin'  up  wild  cats  an'  porky- 
pines  and  sich  truck,  an'  he  kept  'em  in  the 
wagon  I  drove." 

"You  must  have  had  a  nice  time  with 
such  passengers." 

"Purty  soft  berth,  I  tell  yeou;  most  as 
easy  as  yreou  '  bug  catchers  '  have." 

"And  that  was  why  it  was  called  the 
menagerie  wagon?  " 

"Yes,  that's  it,  and  I'm  getting  thirsty 
again.  D'  yeou  fellers  see  any  springs  on 
top  of  the  divide  when  up  here  yesterday?  " 

"Yes,  there  is  a  large  spring  right  on  top 
of  the  divide." 

"I'll  bet  that's  whar  them  sheep  was 
a  headin'  fur." 


244;  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Yes?" 

" That's  what  they  was  after;  about 
noon,  wasn't  it?" 

"A  little  after." 

"  That  accounts  for  it  all." 

"They  were  going  ior  a  drink,  you 
think?" 

"  Yes,  an'  thar's  3rer  game,  eh?"  as  they 
came  upon  the  two  fine  carcasses  just  as 
they  had  left  them  the  clay  before. 

"  Yes ;  fine  ones,  aren't  they  ?  " 

"Humph!   Fair." 

"Why,  did  you  ever  see  larger  ones?" 
exclaimed  Tom,  opening  his  eyes  wide  in 
astonishment  at  this  slight  appreciation. 

"Wall,  naow  !   I  should  jest  smile." 

"With  larger  horns  than  that  fellow's?" 
asked  Tom,  as  he  took  the  handkerchief  off 
from  it,  and  handed  it  to  Joe. 

"Wall,  yes.  I've  seen  'em  in  the  Black 
Hills,  so  big  that  these  'ere  would  be  little 
kids  compared  to  'em." 

"Oh!  yes." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  245 

"Fact,  'pon  my  word.  I  seen  one  big  fel- 
ler killed  down  thar,  with  horns  that 
twisted  round  makin'  a  circle  as  big  as  the 
hind  wheel  of  a  Murphy  wagon." 

"I  should  think  you  would  be  thirsty  think- 
ing up  such  a  fish  story  as  that.  It's  made 
me  feel  thirst\T  to  hear  it,"  retorted  Joe, 
laughing. 

"I  vote  we  go  over  to  the  spring  and  get 
some  water;  we  can  eat  our  lunch  there," 
suggested  Tom. 

"I  don't  keer  so  much  fur  mj^self  but  the 
mule  must  have  a  drink." 

"Well,  he  can  have  one,  too." 

"All  right,  I'm  with  yeou,  as  soon  as  I 
clrap  this  'ere  pack  saddle,  no  use  ter  take  it 
along,"  added  the  teamster,  arid,  after  tak- 
ing it  from  the  mule's  back  he  piled  it  with 
its  trappings  on  top  of  the  sheep ;  then  lead- 
ing the  mule  along  he  followed  after  the 
boys.  Over  by  the  spring  they  found  good 
grass  for  the  mule. 

"Old  Jack  will  fare  sumptuously," 
remarked  Tom. 


246  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"The  quantity  will  pass  muster  but  the 
quality  of  it  won't  do  'im  no  good." 

"Mules  are  tough,  they  can  stand  it." 

"Neow  that's  just  like  a  bug  catcher! 
Yeou  fellers  get  so  used  ter  stickin'  pins  in 
butterflies  and  bottlin'  toads  that  3reou 
don't  think  a  mule  is  near  half  human." 

"Well,  not  quite  half." 

"Neow,  thar  yeou  mistake;  a  mule  knows 
what's  good  treatment  better'n  amr  man 
livm'  'cept  his  driver,  and  that  proves  it." 

"They  ought  to  know  between  them." 

"You  empty  the  lunch  basket,  Tom,  I'm 
going  to  have  another  drink,"  said  Joe, 
handing  the  basket  to  Tom. 

They  ate  and  drank,  enjoying  themselves 
as  only  bo3Ts  can.  The  teamster  sharing 
everything  equal^  had  somewhat  the  best 
of  them  as  he  had  but  one  mouth  to  feed, 
and  as  he  thrust  the  last  half  biscuit  into  his 
capacious  mouth,  having  eaten  one  half  of 
the  provisions  brought,  he  mumbled  some- 
thing, which  lrom  the  crowded  state  of  that 


'why,  to  wash  out  a  few  panfuls  of  this  dirt? " 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  249 

cavernous  orifice  was  entirely  unintelligible 
to  the  boj^s. 

"  What  did  von  sa}r  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

"  Why, — I  said — as  how  I'd  like — to  pros- 
pect this  'ere  little  stream  a  bit." 

"Prospect!  How?  I  don't  know  what 
you  mean. 

"Why,  to  wash  out  a  few  panfuls  of  this 
dirt." 

"What  for?" 

"To  see  if  there  is  any  gold  in  it." 

"Do  they  ever  find  gold  in  this  kind  of  a 
place?" 

"  Why,  I  thought  as  eve^  one  knew  whar 
they  found  gold." 

"Well,  I  don't;  is  this  a  promising  spot?  " 

"Wall,  I  should  say  so!  This  'ere  bar  is 
full  of  washed  gravel  deposit,  and  the 
chances  are  good  ;  we  found  it  in  the  Black 
Hills  in  a  poorer  lookin'  spot  nor  this." 

"I  wonder  if  we  could  find  some  if  we 
looked  about  us  a  little." 

"Ho!  Ho!  Ho!  That's  purty  good.  I 
thought  bug  catchers  were  pretty  smart! 


250  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

Ha  !  Ha !  Ha !  Wall,  I  never !  Did  ye  think 
it  was  on  top  of  the  dirt  to  be  picked  up  ?  " 

"I  did  not  suppose  it  was  very  plenty, 
but  you  said  this  was  a  good  place  to  find 
it,  and  I  did  not  know  but  what  we  might 
pick  up  a  very  small  bit,  just  for  a  speci- 
men." 

"Oh!  3^es,  but  yeou  see  it's  most  allers 
found  on  bed  rock  or  near  it.  I've  seen  it  in 
the  grass  roots,  but  it  was  when  the  bed 
rock  was  near  ter  the  surface." 

"Did  you  ever  dig  out  much  gold  ?  "  asked 
Tom,  putting  the  question  as  mildly  as 
possible  in  deference  to  the  fact  that  his 
question  so  much  as  implied  a  doubt. 

"Did  I  ever  dig  out  eny  gold?  Wall, 
neow,  I  should  smile!  Why,  tons  an'  tons 
of  it.  I  went  ter  Californy  in  '60  an'  have 
been  miniiv  an'  prospectin'  ever  since." 

"  That's  a  long  time  at  it." 

"Yes,  an'  I  can  tell  at  a  glance  what  the 
chance  is  ter  find  gold,  an'  I  think  right  here 
it's  good!" 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  251 

"  What's  the  first  thing  to  do  to  get  some 
of  it?  I  don't  mind  filling  my  pockets 
while  I'm  here,"  said  Joe,  who  was  rather 
sceptical  concerning  this  class  of  stories. 

"Wall,  I'll  tell  ye,  the  main  thing  is  ter 
find  a  likely  spot  an'  then  sink  a  shaft,  an' 
when  yeou  come  ter  pay  dirt,  pan  it  out  and 
see  if  thar's  anything  in  it.  Down  below  us 
whar  that  ridge  of  rock  sticks  up,  thar's 
a  channel  an'  if  its  gravel  thar,  like  this  'ere 
spot,  I  reckon  gold  can  be  found  by  diggin' 
fur  it,"  replied  the  teamster,  nodding  his 
head  as  he  gave  this  graphic  description. 

"Let's  go  down  and  have  a  look  at  that 
place,"  proposed  Tom. 

"We  can  take  this  cup  and  wash  out 
some  sand  aiw  way,"  assented  Joe,  picking 
up  their  tin  drinking  cup  and  starting  down 
toward  the  place,  followed  by  the  others. 

Here  they  walked  about  the  sand  and 
gravel,  vaguely  building  castles  in  the  air 
as  to  what  they  would  do  if  they  could  only 
find  a  great  big  nugget  of  gold. 


252  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"I  don't  see  any  signs  of  gold  here," 
began  Tom. 

"  Why,  can't  3^ou  understand  we've  got  to 
dig  for  it  ?  "  replied  Joe. 

"Well,  we've  not  the  tools  to  dig  with 
nor  the  time  cither,"  retorted  Tom. 

"Neow  look  'ere,  boys,  I'm  goin'  to  wash 
out  some  of  this  sand,"  declared  the  team- 
ster, as  he  scooped  up  a  cupful  of  mud  and 
gravel.  "This  is  a  mighty  mean  thing  ter 
pan  in,  but  I  ma}'  get  a  color  or  two,"  he 
added,  as  he  stooped  down  beside  a  little 
pool  in  the  rocks,  and  with  a  gentle  rocking 
motion  kept  the  dirt  in  commotion,  allow- 
ing all  the  coarse  grains  of  sand  and  rock  to 
escape,  keeping  the  fine  back  to  the  last. 
When  it  was  all  gone  but  a  spoonful  of 
black  sand  he  turned  the  cup  to  the  sun 
and,  after  one  glance  into  it,  sprang  up  and 
shouted : 

" Whoop!  Hurrah!  Jest  look  at  that! 
Jest  look  at  that!  Jeemses  River!  Look  at 
that!" 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

"Let's  see  it,"  exclaimed  both  Tom  and 
Joe,  grasping  the  cup  at  the  same  instant. 

"Hold  on,  don't  be  so  previous,  3'oung 
fellers;  yeou  can  both  see  it  if  yeou  take 
time,"  replied  the  teamster,  twisting  the 
cup  away  from  them. 

"Well,  do  let's  see  it." 

"All  right,  look  at  it,  but  don't  tear  the 
handle  off  the  cup." 

"I  don't  see  anything  but  black  stuff  in 
it,"  cried  Tom. 

"Neither  do  I,"  chimed  Joe. 

"Thars  a  good  big  payin'  prospect  in 
that  ar'  cup,  an'  don't  yeou  forgit  it." 

"Well,  get  some  more  of  the  sand  out  of 
it,  and  let's  see  it  then,"  growled  Joe,  and 
the  teamster  after  giving  the  cup  a  few 
mystic  shakes,  canted  it  up  to  the  sun,  and 
then  the  boys  could  plainly  see  a  yellow 


254  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

streak  nearly  covered  with  the  black  sand. 

"Is  that  gold  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

"Course  'tis!  Whatever  did  yeou  think 
were  heavier  nor  black  sand  ?  " 

"I  don't  pretend  to  know  anything  about 
it,  as  I  told  you  at  first." 

"Wall,  that's  gold,  an'  thar's  lots  of  gold 
right  under  us.  Yeou  see,  I  scraped  this 
dirt  up  from  the  creek  bottom,  right  on  this 
granite  strip  here;  wall,  that's  the  reg'lar 
bed  rock,  just  the  same  as  if  we'd  dug  a 
hun'red  foot  for  it." 

"If  that  stuff  is  gold  I  wish  we  could  come 
up  here  and  dig  up  a  lot  of  it." 

"That  ar'  is  a  thing  we  can't  do  now, 
but  I'll  tell  yeou  what,  we  must  keep  dark 
about  it  an'  tell  nobody,  an'  when  we  get 
through  with  this  outfit  we'll  come  back 
an'  make  a  stake  right  here." 

"Why  not  tell  of  it?" 

"  Cause  somebody  '11  jump  our  claim.  We 
want  ter  keep  quiet  an'  claim  this  'ere  spot, 
an'  we'll  come  back  some  day  an'  work  it." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  255 

"All  right,  I'll  agree  to  that;  will  you, 
Joe?" 

"Oh,  yes." 

"Wall,  that's  a  go,  an'  nobody's  to  give 
it  away ;  if  we  do  we'll  never  get  nothin' 
out  of  it." 

"All  right,  we'll  never  do  so  much  as  to 
mention  it  to  a  soul ;  but  as  we  can't  do 
anything  now,  I  think  we'd  better  get  the 
mule  and  go  back  and  pack  up  our  game ; 
it's  near  noon." 

"  Move  it  is,  then !  Yeou  bug  catchers  are 
in  command  of  this  'ere  expedition  an'  I'm 
willin'  ter  obey  orders." 

"Well,  come  on,  Joe,  don't  stand  there 
fooling  with  that  cup  all  day,"  called  Tom, 
as  Joe  made  no  attempt  to  move. 

"Go  ahead,  I'll  catch  you,"  returned  Joe, 
as  he  stood  for  a  few  minutes  with  the  cup 
in  his  hands,  fascinated  with  its  contents. 
Then  washing  out  the  cup  he  hurried  on 
after  the  others. 

It  took  them  but  a  very  short  time  to 
pack  the  two  carcasses  on  the  mule,  as  the 


256  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

teamster  was  an  adept  with  the  diamond 
hitch,  the  intricacies  of  which  the  bo3Ts 
failed  to  discern  although  explained  to 
them  several  times,  by  the  accommodating 
teamster. 

4kI  don't  think  we  need  to  go  back  the 
way  we  came  up ;  we  can  let  him  go  back 
with  the  mule,  and  you  and  I  can  take  a 
turn  through  that  gulch  beyond  and  come 
out  of  the  mountains  to  the  east;  what  do 
you  say,  Joe?  " 

"I'm  willing;  we  may  find  something 
worth  picking  up  down  there." 

"Well,"  said  Tom,  speaking  to  the  team- 
ster, "you  can  go  on  back  the  way  we  came 
up  and  we'll  take  a  spin  down  the  other 
gulch." 

"All  right,  all  the  same  ter  me;  yeou  are 
the  boss,  young  feller,"  replied  that  indi- 
vidual, and  then,  picking  up  the  mule's 
halter,  he  led  him  away. 

The  boys  turned  their  backs  on  him  and 
disappeared  in  the  other  direction. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  257 

"What  do  you  think  of  that  stuff  we 
found  in  the  cup,  Joe  ?  " 

"I  don't  know  what  to  think  of  it;  the 
more  I  looked  at  it,  the  more  it  puzzled  me." 

"Do n't  you  think  it  was  gold  ?  " 

"No,  and  I  think  that  teamster  is  an  old 
fraud." 

"Why?" 

"I  can't  say  why,  nor  can  I  sa}^  that  stuff 
was  not  gold,  but  I  don't  think  it  was, 
that's  all." 

"What  was  it,  then?" 

"That  I  don't  know.  I'm  not  sure  it's 
not  gold ;  it  was  queer  stuff,  but  I've  read 
that  there  are  many  things  that  look  like 
gold  that  are  worthless,  and  as  that  man 
said  this  was  gold  I  simply  believe  it's  not." 

"That  'logical  deduction,'  as  old  Prof, 
used  to  say,  is  not  very  flattering  to  the 
teamster,  and  I'm  inclined  to  believe  it's  the 
pure  thing." 

"It  might  have  been." 

"I  really  think  so,  or  he  would  not  have 
wanted  us  to  keep  so  quiet  about  it." 

17 


258  MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY. 

"I  think  he  just  said  that  to  make  us 
want  to  tell  somebody,  and  then  when  we 
made  a  big  excitement  about  it,  we  would 
be  laughed  at  nicely,  and  he'd  have  his  little 
joke,  don't  you  see?  " 

"I  shouldn't  wonder  if  that  was  just  it," 
answered  Tom,  in  no  wise  anxious  to  be 
laughed  at. 

"Shall  we  follow  down  the  gulch  or  keep 
up  to  the  left?" 

"I  think  we  would  better  keep  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  gulch  and  follow  it  down;  if  we 
come  out  on  the  east  side,  we  will  have  a 
long  walk  back  to  camp." 

The  timber  was  dense,  making  a  most 
delicious  shade  after  the  burning  heat  of  the 
prairies,  and  they  both  enjoyed  the  change. 
Magnificent  pines  stood  about  in  profusion, 
some  of  them  being  perfect  giants  of  their 
species.  On  they  went  for  some  four  or  five 
miles,  and  then  the  gulch  widened  out  into 
quite  a  valley,  the  timber  being  only  on  the 
hills  at  the  side. 

"What  a  beautiful  spot,"  cried  Joe. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  259 

"  Yes,  this  will  make  a  man  a  fine  farm 
some  day." 

" Everything  handy,  wood,  water  and  a 
good  soil." 

"  Everything  indeed,  except  that  it's 
beyond  civilization." 

"That  condemns  it." 

"  Yes;  I  think  we  would  better  shape  our 
course  toward  that  point  of  timber  to  the 
left  and  then  we  can  skirt  around  to  the 
north  side  of  the  mountains,"  said  Tom, 
pointing  to  a  small  grove  of  pines  about 
a  mile  below  them.  They  walked  without 
changing  their  course  to  this  little  grove 
and  here  Tom  proposed  to  rest,  saying: 

"  I  don't  know  how  you  feel,  but  I'm  get- 
ting tired." 

"Well,  we  can  rest  for  half  an  hour." 

"Don't  you  feel  tired?" 

"No,  I  can't  say  that  I  do." 

"Oh !    You  are  never  tired." 

"Yes,  I  am  very  often  tired,  but  not  just 
now.    There's  a  tree  over  there  that  seems 


260  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

to  have  a  lot  of  the  bark  cut  off  from  it;  I 
wonder  what  could  have  done  that.'' 

"Where?" 

"Away  over  beyond  those  rocks;  you 
rest  here,  and  I'll  walk  over  and  investigate 
it,"  said  Joe,  and  when  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  tree,  he  at  once  discovered  that  the  bark 
had  been  carefully  cut  away  for  at  least 
two  feet  square.  A  closer  investigation  dis- 
closed the  fact  that  this  had  been  done 
many  }rears  ago ;  and  in  the  solid  wood  of 
the  tree  thus  exposed,  had  been  cut  by  the 
hand  of  man  the  elate  1850;  under  this 
the  letters  "W.  A.  C."  Below  this  were 
cut  four  circles,  each  one  being  below  and 
to  the  right  of  the  one  above,  the  top  one 
being  the  largest,  each  growing  smaller  as 
they  descended.  Each  of  these  circles  was 
connected  by  two  lines  drawn  as  closely  to 
each  other  as  the  rough  work  would  allow, 
and  below  this  curious  device  were  the 
unmistakable  representations  of  a  pick  and 
shovel. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  261 

"Oh!  Tom,  bestir  3^our  lazy  bones  and 
come  over!  "  shouted  Joe. 

"What  is  it?  I'm  too  comfortable  here 
to  move,"  replied  Tom,  making  no  effort  to 
change  his  position. 

"Come  on  over  and  see;  something  is  cut 
in  this  tree." 

"Bear's  scratching,  most  likely. " 

"No,  it's  not;  come  here." 

"You  just  want  to  get  me  up,"  growled 
Tom,  but  his  curiosity  was  sufficiently 
excited  to  cause  him  to  leave  his  comfort- 
able position  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  and  to 
join  him. 

"Well,  what  is  it,  Joe?" 

"  Here  is  something  of  interest.  This  has 
been  cut  by  some  white  man;  the  date  and 
his  initials  are  plain  but  what  the  rest  of 
those  hierogh^phics  mean  I  can't  imagine." 

"That  date  is  plainly  1850,  and  those  big 
letters  'W.  A.  C  must  have  been  his 
initials,"  said  Tom,  placing  his  hand  on  the 
scarred  tree  trunk  which  was  protected  by 


262  MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY. 

a  corrugated  coating  of  resinous  exuda- 
tions. 

"Yes,  that's  all  plain,  but  what  does  the 
rest  of  this  mean?  That  is  a  pick  and 
shovel  down  there.' ' 

"That  means  that  the  man  was  here  in 
1850  and  that  he  was  a  miner  or  prospector 
looking  for  gold." 

"And  perhaps  he  found  a  lot  and  buried 
it  under  this  tree !  " 

"Not  likely;  he  might  have  hidden  it 
about  here  somewhere  but  he  would  not 
have  marked  the  spot  so  plainly." 

"But  what  can  all  these  circles  mean  con- 
nected in  this  way?  "  asked  Joe. 

"  Ask  me  an  eas\r  one.  We  can't  find  out 
the  mystery  by  standing  here  looking  at  it; 
it  was  done  a  good  man}'  3'ears  ago,  by  the 
way  the  bark  of  the  tree  has  grown  around 
this  blaze." 

"It  must  have  been  done  in  just  about 
that  3rear.  Ma}^be  the  poor  fellow  was 
killed  by  Indians." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  263 

"I  shouldn't  wonder,  but  we  had  best 
start  for  camp,  we'll  not  get  back  before 
dark  now." 

''Well,  I'm  ready,  go  and  get  your  rifle 
and  come  on." 

"It  must  be  ten  miles  to  camp." 

"Yes,  and  more,"  agreed  Joe,  as  they 
resumed  their  journey. 

They  were  getting  away  from  the  tim- 
bered hills  and  the  scorching  heat  above  the 
sunburnt  prairies  was  very  severe,  and  the 
ground  was  fairly  radiating  with  its 
intensity.  They  were  walking  along  rap- 
idly, avoiding  here  and  there  spots  where 
the  cacti  grew  so  dense  and  thick  that  the 
leather  of  their  shoes  was  no  protection  to 
their  feet,  when  they  both  suddenly  stopped, 
as  directly  in  front  of  them  was  a  round 
hole  in  the  earth  of  some  four  feet  in 
diameter,  which  went  down  like  a  well. 

"What  in  the  world  made  this  here?" 
exclaimed  Tom. 

"Somebody  dug  it  probably,"  replied  Joe. 


264  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"That  could  hardly  be,  as  there's  no  trace 
of  any  dirt  thrown  about  here." 

"Maybe  it's  a  bear's  hole!  " 

"No!  How  could  any  bear  climb  up  out 
of  such  a  perpendicular  shaft?  " 

"Well,  I  give  it  up ;  if  I  had  a  rope  I'd  go 
down  and  find  out  what  it  was." 

"I'd  hate  to  go  down  into  that  horrible 
hole.  How  do  you  know  what  might  not 
be  down  there?  " 

4 'Nothing  ver\'r  dangerous;  it  doesn't 
look  as  if  it  were  ever  made  b\'  the  hand  of 
man.  This  is  a  hard  clay  soil  below  the 
first  few  inches  of  top  dirt  and  I  think  it's  a 
cave,"  replied  Joe. 

"We  can  mark  the  spot  and  come  here 
to-morrow  with  a  rope." 

"  All  right,  I'll  tie  my  handkerchief  to  my 
ram  rod  and  leave  it  sticking  up  here,  as  in 
no  other  way  could  we  ever  find  this  hole 
again  even  if  we  were  to  hunt  about  here  for  a 
month,"  said  Joe,  and,  after  making  a 
respectable  flag  of  his  handkerchief,  they 
both  hurried  on  back  to  the  camp. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  discovery  of  this  mysterious  shaft 
caused  much  commotion  in  the  naturalist's 
camp,  and  even  Mr.  Hugill  evinced  other 
than  his  usual  blase  interest  in  the  proposed 
exploration.  The  doctor's  belief  that  it 
was  in  some  way  connected  with  the  sym- 
bols on  the  tree  was  shared  by  him.  His 
willingness  to  make  one  of  a  party  to  inves- 
tigate may  have  been  augmented  by  the 
stories  of  hidden  gold  dust  and  buried  nug- 
gets that  had  been  started  by  the  teamster 
who  was  now  sailing  under  the  sobriquet 
of  ''the  old  '49er!  "  All  wanted  to  go,  but 
the  doctor  willed  otherwise,  and  proposed 
that  he  himself  and  Joe  should  go  over  on 
a  couple  of  the  mules  with  a  rope  and  some 
candles  and  see  the  bottom  of  the  hole  if  it 
were  possible,  and,  as  the  doctor  said,  "It 
will   most  likely  prove  to  be  but  a  shallow 

265 


266  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

affair;  there  will  be  no  need  of  more  of  us." 

And  so  the  matter  was  settled.  Joe  had 
no  difficulty  in  finding  the  place.  The  doc- 
tor was  somewhat  disappointed,  but  just 
what  he  had  expected  to  find  he  did  not 
say,  only  that, — 

"This  is  a  mighty  small  hole  to  make 
such  a  talk  about." 

"You  could  not  have  thought  to  find  a 
hole  like  the  Mammoth  cave  of  Kentucky," 
rejoined  Joe,  laughingly. 

"No,  no,  but  I'm  afraid  we'll  have  but 
little  use  for  our  rope." 

4 '  We  can't  tell,  sir;  I'd  not  like  to  jump 
down  without  a  rope." 

"No,  of  course  not;  we  must  take  no 
chances,"  acquiesced  the  doctor,  as  Joe  was 
untying  the  rope  from  his  mule.  They  both 
then  looked  down  into  the  shaft  and 
thought  it  pretty  deep  after  all. 

Meanwhile  the  two  saddle  mules,  finding 
themselves  free  from  restraint,  took  to  their 
heels  and  made  back  to  camp  on  the  run. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  267 

"Well!  well!  That's  too  bad.  How  care- 
less of  me,  sir!"  exclaimed  Joe,  with  a 
serious  look  on  his  face. 

"Never  mind,  Joe,  it  can't  be  helped  now, 
and  we'll  not  mind  the  walk  home." 

"The  walk  is  nothing  to  me, sir,  but  quite 
a  long  one  for  you." 

"No  matter,  we  can  take  it  leisurely  and 
we'll  get  there  all  right." 

"It  is  unfortunate,  to  say  the  least;  but 
now  I've  dropped  the  rope  down  and  I 
think  it  touches  bottom.  If  you  can  hold  it, 
I'll  slide  down." 

"I  don't  know;  3tou  are  pretty  heavy, 
you  see." 

"  Keep  back  from  the  edge  pretty  well  and 
the  edge  of  the  hole  will  take  the  most  of 
the  weight,"  said  Joe,  and  after  further 
instructions  he  grasped  the  rope  and  gave  it 
a  shake,  saying: 

"I  think  it's  on  bottom." 

"All  right,  I'm  reacW,  Joe,  are  you?" 
cried  the  doctor,   twisting  his  end   into   a 


268  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

knot,  and  then  bracing  himself  in  a  manner 
to  be  the  most  effective. 

"Yes." 

"Then  do  be  careful." 

"  Oh  !  I  will,  don't  you  worry  about  me," 
replied  Joe,  as  he  sat  down  on  the  edge  of 
the  black  yawning  pit,  and  taking  hold  of 
the  rope  with  both  hands  swung  himself 
clear.  Sliding  down,  he  kept  himself  in 
position  and  away  from  the  walls  with  his 
feet. 

Down!  Down!  Down!  he  went,  until  all 
that  could  be  seen  of  him  by  the  doctor  was 
the  gleam  of  his  white  hands  holding  to  the 
rope.  Joe  was  an  athletic  lad,  and  could  go 
up  and  down  a  rope  equal  to  any  sailor, 
and  an  adventure  like  this  was  very  agree- 
able to  his  intrepid  disposition. 

Nearing  the  lower  end  of  the  rope  he  went 
slower  and  slower  until  he  thought  he 
surely  must  be  near  the  end.  Then  a  little 
farther  and  he  thought  his  feet  must  be  near 
the  bottom  and  yet  they  were  not,  but  he 


NEARING  THE  LOWER  END   OF  THE  ROPE   HE   WENT 
SLOWER  AND  SLOWER. — Page  268. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  271 

could  feel  that  he  was  near  the  end  of  his 
rope.    The  end  of  it  was  at  his  knees! 

" Lower  down  a  bit,  sir,"  he  shouted  as 
loudly  as  he  could,  and  the  doctor,  hearing, 
came  yet  a  little  closer. 

"How's  that  now,  Joe?"  yelled  the  doc- 
tor, coming  nearer  the  edge. 

"  More  3'et,  if  you  can,"  responded  Joe. 

"How's  that?  "  from  the  doctor  between 
his  teeth,  as  in  nearing  the  edge  of  the  hole 
he  had  more  weight  to  sustain,  and  it  was 
becoming  all  he  could  do  to  hold  on. 

"Not  enough,"  came  up  from  the  bottom 
of  the  pit,  and  what  was  the  doctor  to  do? 
He  dared  not  even  confess  it  to  himself  that 
his  own  strength  was  giving  out  and  that 
to  come  nearer  the  hole  might  cause  Joe's 
weight  to  drop  him  down  too  if  he  did  not 
let  go.  But  what  was  he  to  do?  A  foot 
nearer  and  Joe  might  gain  a  footing.  He 
would  try  it,  although  he  realized  the  seri- 
ousness of  the  situation. 

Puffing  and  straining  with  this  unaccus- 
tomed exertion  he  stepped  a  foot  nearer. 


272  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

Great  Heavens !  It  seemed  as  if  there  were 
a  ton  on  the  end  of  the  rope.  He  tried  to 
gasp  out  another  question  to  Joe.  His  foot 
slipped !  The  rope  dragged  harder !  The 
doctor  stumbled,  threw  out  his  hands  and 
barely  saved  himself  from  going  down  the 
hole.  But  he  had  let  the  rope  slip !  It  dis- 
appeared down  the  shaft ! 

Joe,  at  the  bottom,  holding  to  the  rope 
did  not  realize  how  short  a  reserve  of  that 
article  the  doctor  had  retained,  and  as  he 
felt  himself  being  let  down  a  couple  of  feet 
at  a  time  in  a  jerky  manner  lie  employed 
himself  in  sliding  down  just  as  far  as  he 
could  at  his  end.  Then  without  a  moment's 
warning  he  found  himself  on  his  back 
descending  with  a  velocity  that  he  was 
unable  to  check,  into  impenetrable  darkness. 
How  far  he  went  he  could  not  conjecture. 
He  had  not  even  had  time  to  think  about 
calling  out  before  he  found  himself  in  a 
stifling  cloud  of  dust  and  dried  grass,  shoot- 
ing down  into  that  unknown  region  below. 
The  shaft  had  gone  down  perpendicularly 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  273 

as  far  as  the    length  of  the  rope  but  from 
there  it  had  made  quite  an  angle. 

His  fall  was  broken  gradually  by  the 
incline  becoming  less  steep,  and  after  com- 
ing to  a  stop,  his  first  move  caused  him  to 
slide  yet  a  little  farther.  This  of  course 
made  him  cautious  as  in  that  impenetrable 
darkness  there  was  no  telling  what  a  few 
feet  of  further  advance  might  mean.  He 
turned  his  head  cautioushr  to  look  behind 
him  as  he  slid  his  hand  into  his  pocket  for 
his  candle,  but  no  light  came  down  from 
above  and  he  knew  that  his  impromptu 
descent  must  have  carried  him  some  dis- 
tance from  the  bottom  of  the  shaft.  Joe 
was  about  to  strike  a  match,  when  his 
blood  was  chilled  and  the  yqtj  marrow  of 
his  bones  seemed  turned  to  ice  by  what  felt 
like  a  cold  damp  hand  being  placed  on  his 
cheek.  It  was  an  impulse  born  of  the 
moment  that  caused  him  to  drop  his  candle 
and  dash  his  hands  frantically  about  his 
head  in  a  mad  determination  to  lay  hold  of 
something,   but    all    such    endeavors    were 

18 


274  MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY. 

productive  of  no  tangible  results,  and  he 
questioned  himself  if  it  were  not  all  his  own 
imagination.  The  timidity  which  no 
powers  of  will  could  drown,  and  the  hor- 
rible uncertainty  of  what  might  be  in  front 
of  him  caused  his  hand  to  tremble  percept- 
ibly as  he  fumbled  in  his  pockets  for  another 
match.  This  he  lit  and  carefully  held  above 
him,  to  enable  him  to  find  his  candle,  when 
to  his  amazement  and  horror,  before  he 
was  able  to  discern  his  surroundings  by  its 
feeble  glare,  it  was  blown  out  and  he  was 
again  in  darkness  ! 

It  had  been  to  him  the  darkness  of  mid- 
night, but  now  it  was  darkness  so  somber 
and  dreadful  that  his  boy's  heart  beat  in 
great  thumps  against  his  ribs,  as  he  with 
trembling  hand  sought  another  match.  A 
realizing  sense  of  his  position  down  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  had  not  as  yet  presented 
itself  to  Joe,  as  the  dread  of  this  unseen  and 
ghostly  tenant  had  absorbed  his  entire 
attention.  Dark  and  quiet  as  the  grave, 
and  Joe  thinking  that  there  might  be  virtue 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  275 

in  his  own  voice  to  uphold  his  courage,  even 
if  it  did  not  daunt  his  mysterious  tor- 
mentor, shouted  as  loudly  and  gruffly  as  he 
could,  "You  do  that  again  and  I'll  knock 
your  head  off,"  but  his  voice  had  an 
unnatural  sound,  reverberating  back  to  him 
with  unholy  intonations  which  would  in 
themselves  have  frightened  him,  had  he  not 
in  the  next  instant  felt  a  faint  puff  of  wind 
fan  his  face  and  a  lock  of  his  hair  experi- 
ence a  decided  pull ! 

Again  he  dashed  his  arms  frantically 
about,  but  there  was  nothing  to  lav  hold 
of.  Once  onh^  had  he  imagined  his  fingers 
touched  something  in  mid  air,  and  yet  he 
was  not  certain,  but  now,  distinctly  hear- 
ing a  diabolical  chattering,  he  had  no  desire 
to  verify  the  idea  by  again  striking  in  that 
direction.  It  was  a  shrill  chattering,  or 
more  of  a  hissing  noise,  keen  and  piercing- 
like  the  sharpening  of  a  saw  with  a  file, 
which  now  added  its  terrors  to  the  situ- 
ation. 


276  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

Another  match,  thought  Joe,  and  now 
with  the  greatest  care  he  lit  two  or  three  at 
the  same  time  determined  to  have  light 
enough  to  find  his  candle.  After  striking  the 
matches  he  guarded  them  carefully  with  his 
hands,  and  it  was  only  by  using  the  great- 
est precaution  that  the\r  were  not  blown 
out  at  once,  as  he  could  feel  puffs  of  wind 
from  all  directions.  Before  the  matches 
were  fairly  ablaze  the  very  atmosphere 
about  him  seemed  to  be  in  commotion,  he 
was  in  the  center  of  a  whirlwind,  the  air 
went  round  and  round,  so  that  he  could 
feel  his  jacket  drawn  out  straight  behind 
him  as  if  the  wind  were  in  a  twisting, 
whirling  mood  bent  only  upon  cutting- 
capers  of  an  evil  sort,  and  again  he  was  in 
darkness,  but  with  it  the  noise  ceased.  His 
utmost  endeavors  had  proved  futile  and  he 
had  been  unable  to  keep  the  matches  burn- 
ing. His  first  inclination  was  to  cry  out, 
as  now  a  feeling  of  helplessness  came  over 
him,  but  he  knew  that  it  would  be  useless 
to  expect  any  one  could  hear  him.     He  then 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  277 

placed  one  hand  down  to  feel  about  him  as 
to  the  security  of  his  position,  when  to  his 
delight  he  felt  the  candle. 

"Ha!"  thought  Joe,  "this  time  I'll 
know  enough  not  to  drop  it,"  when  to  his 
consternation  he  heard  a  rustling  move- 
ment in  the  dead  grass  and  dirt  behind  him, 
and  then  something  came  sliding  down, 
lodging  at  his  back.  Joe's  grasp  was  no 
very  mild  squeeze,  for  a  certain  amount  of 
frenzy  was  mingled  with  a  grim  determina- 
tion to  become  master  of  the  situation,  as 
he  sank  his  fingers  deep  into  the  soft  coat  of 
his  assailant  in  the  rear. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

When  a  situation  getsbe3rond  the  powers 
of  a  narrator  it  is  customary  to  say  that 
it  is  easier  imagined  than  described,  and 
had  not  the  doctor  afterward  told  the 
writer  just  how  he  felt  when  the  rope  was 
drawn  away  from  his  unwilling  hands,  the 
author  would  here  resort  to  the  same 
expedient  in  speaking  of  the  unhappy  man's 
feelings  at  that  time.  For  a  few  minutes  he 
was  without  the  power  of  moving.  His 
brain  was  in  a  whirl  and  refused  to  suggest 
the  slightest  loophole  out  of  this  awful  pre- 
dicament. There  he  stood  gazing  down 
into  the  depths  of  that  black,  yawning  hole. 
No  sound  came  up,  not  even  a  groan  to  tell 
him  that  Joe  was  yet  alive !  When  the  doctor 
had  recovered  sufficiently  to  speak,  he 
shouted  down  the  hole: 

278 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  279 

"Hello!  Joe!"  No  answer  came  back. 
"Oh!  Joe,  are  3^011  hurt?"  and  although 
the  doctor  listened  intently  he  heard  noth- 
ing. 

Great  heavens !  what  had  become  of  Joe  ? 
How  far  had  he  fallen  before  he  could  have 
reached  the  bottom  of  this  awful  hole? 
Now  in  an  agony  of  suspense  the  doctor 
walked  about  its  treacherous  edge,  calling 
incessantly  to  Joe  but  receiving  no  answer. 
He  felt  himself  in  a  most  miserable  plight. 
The  mules  gone,  and  Joe  lying  at  an 
unknown  depth  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth 
and  most  likely  dead.  There  was  the  doc- 
tor without  a  rope  or  even  a  stick.  Per- 
fectly helpless!  There  was  no  use  in  stand- 
ing there  ;  he  must  hurry  back  to  camp  for 
help.  Determining  that  this  was  the  only 
thing  to  be  done,  he  turned  and  started 
back  to  camp.  The  doctor  had  not  gone 
more  than  a  hundred  yards  from  the  hole 
when  up  from  the  long  grass  sprang  three 
Indians  who  rushed  upon  him.  The}'  were 
savage  fellows  with  but  little  on  them  save 


280  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

paint  and  feathers  and  more  like  the  old 
aborigines  than  any  of  the  tribes  that  the 
doctor  had  seen.  They  were  simply  armed 
with  bows  and  arrows,  and  war  clubs.  It 
afterward  proved  that  the\r  were  Stonej'S 
and  belonged  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Saskatchewan  river.  The  Stoneys  were  a 
tribe  that  had  alwa3rs  been  considered  quite 
peaceable,  but  these  were  a  few  of  a  war 
party  skirmishing  a  long  way  from  their 
own  hunting  grounds. 

The  poor  old  doctor,  terrified  with  the 
horror  of  an  awful  death  impending,  turned 
and  ran,  but  age  and  his  own  corpulency 
were  against  him  and  he  was  handicapped 
in  this  race  for  life.  Short,  indeed,  was  the 
course,  for  with  \Tells  of  an  awful  kind  and 
with  bounds  that  a  race  horse  would  have 
had  trouble  to  excell  the  three  savages  were 
upon  him  swinging  their  clubs  in  the  air  as 
they  ran !  One  demon,  a  little  in  advance 
of  the  others,  struck  the  fated  naturalist  a 
glancing  blow  on  the  side  of  the  head  and 


MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY.  281 

felled  liim  to  the  earth,  unconscious  now  of 
all  that  was  to  befall  him ! 

Gutterals  and  grunts,  grins  and  gesticu- 
lations from  the  three  savages  told  of  their 
delight  at  their  success,  and  they  fairly 
danced  up  and  down  as  they  circled  about 
their  victim.  The  one  that  had  dealt  the 
fateful  blow  seemed  to  express  his  pro- 
prietorship in  the  victim,  and,  drawing  his 
scalping  knife  reached  over  the  prostrate 
form  with  a  whirl  of  the  knife,  and  with  the 
other  hand  he  gave  most  powerful  jerks  at 
the  doctor's  heavy  brown  hair.  There  was 
more  power  expended  than  was  needed,  and 
the  unnecessary  force  sent  the  savage 
sprawling  over  on  his  back  with  the  wig  of 
the  doctor  in  his  hand!  More  yells  from 
the  savages,  and  then,  as  they  more  care- 
fully examined  the  bald  head  now  exposed 
to  their  view  for  the  first  time  they 
expressed  their  veneration  for  this  great 
chief  that  must  have  done  much  fighting  to 
have  been  scalped  and  have  lived  through 
it.    There  was  a  deep  coulee  not  far  from 


282  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

the  hole  and  the  Indians  had  left  their 
kiyuses  in  this,  having  been  riding  along  at 
the  bottom  of  it  the  better  to  keep  them- 
selves out  of  sight  and  they  had  come  quite 
unexpectedly  upon  the  doctor,  just  as  he 
had  dropped  the  rope.  They  had  been 
silent  witnesses  to  his  after  trouble,  but  not 
having  arrived  upon  the  scene  previously  to 
that,  the\r  were  unaware  that  Joe  was  at 
the  bottom  of  the  hole. 

One  of  the  Indians  went  back  after  their 
kiyuses,  while  one  went  to  examine  the  spot 
where  the  doctor  had  been  standing  when 
first  seen,  leaving  the  third  standing  over 
his  prostrate  form  examining  the  material 
composing  the  wig.  The  Indian  that  found 
the  hole  was  as  surprised  as  the  boys  had 
been  when  the\r  first  came  to  it.  After 
much  talking  and  gesticulating  they  threw 
the  unconscious  doctor  over  one  of  the 
kiyuses  and  carried  him  to  the  edge  of  the 
hole,  then  dumped  him  as  unceremoniously 
on  the  ground  as  if  he  had  been  a  sack  of 
salt.    Much  talking  followed  this,   and  it 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  283 

was  finally  decided  to  leave  the  doctor  there 
securely  bound  while  they  rode  back  to  their 
camp  for  an  extra  kiyus,  as  none  of  the 
three  would  consent  to  walk. 

One  of  the  savages  tossed  a  stone  down 
the  hole.  It  sounded  as  if  it  struck  bottom. 
Ha  !  A  bright  idea  struck  him.  He  uncoiled 
a  long  hair  lariat  from  his  saddle,  and,  as 
the  other  Indians  had  securely  tied  the  doc- 
tor's hands  behind  his  back,  he  now  passed 
one  end  of  the  lariat  about  his  body  under 
his  arms  and  explained  to  his  fellows,  that 
to  prevent  anyone  else  finding  their  victim 
they  had  best  lower  him  down  out  of  sight. 
This  was  agreed  to,  as  no  chance  must 
be  run  of  being  balked  of  the  pleasure  they 
anticipated  in  putting  so  great  a  chief  to 
the  torture.  One  of  them  took  an  iron 
picket  pin  from  his  kiyus  and  with  his  war 
club  drove  it  securely  into  the  ground  a  foot 
or  two  from  the  hole.  Then  they  rolled  the 
inanimate  form  of  the  doctor  over  the 
edge  and  let  the  lariat  slide  down!  It  was 
well    that    it    was    a  long  lariat  for  their 


284  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

unconscious  burden  did  not  stop  until  it  had 
lodged  against  Joe's  back.  The  Indians 
securely  tied  the  lariat  to  the  iron  pin,  and 
then  seated  themselves  a  few  rods  from  the 
hole  to  enjo\-  a  lunch  of  raw  buffalo  hump 
that  one  of  them  had  taken  from  the  back 
of  his  saddle. 

*         *         *  *  *  *  * 

We  must  now  go  back  to  Joe,  left  down 
at  the  bottom  of  this  unlucky  shaft  clutch- 
ing at  the  doctor's  soft  woolen  shirt  that  at 
first  he  had  taken  for  another  horrible 
enemy,  of  some  unknown  nature. 

Joe's  nerves  had  been  severely  strained 
already  and  he  felt  a  great  sense  of  relief 
that  this  unknown  object  was  remaining 
quiet  under  his  hands.  He  thought  of  bears 
and  mountain  lions,  but  it  felt  like  nothing 
of  this  sort,  and  his  mind  could  conjecture 
no  images  that  might  be  as  this  unknown 
intruder  felt,  but  he  believed  that  now  he 
had  the  mischievous  author  of  all  the 
pranks  that  had  been  played  upon  him. 
Joe  was  quickly  on  his   knees  bending  over 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  285 

the  object  beneath  him.  Carefully  striking 
a  match  and  sheltering  it  with  his  hands  he 
managed  to  light  the  candle;  and  to  his 
amazement  he  beheld  Dr.  Goon  lying  at  his 
feet  bound  and  insensible !  Then  again  his 
candle  was  blown  out  but  this  time  he  had 
seen  the  shadowy  wings  of  innumerable 
bats  flitting  about  his  head  !  The  mystery 
was  solved,  it  had  been  they  that  had  put 
out  his  light ! 

A  faint  groan  from  the  doctor  told  Joe 
that  he  was  alive,  and  without  stopping  to 
light  his  candle  again  fearing  it  would  only 
be  blown  out  he  commenced  feeling  all  over 
him  with  his  hands.  It  was  the  doctor  and 
securely  bound  with  thongs  !  These  Joe  cut 
with  his  hunting  knife,  that  he  had  in  his 
belt,  together  with  a  large  army  revolver 
that  in  his  utter  impotence  he  had  pre- 
viously not  so  much  as  thought  of,  and 
quite  fortunately  so  for  the  doctor,  for  had 
Joe  had  them  in  his  hands  he  would  have 
used  them.  Joe  then  rubbed  the  doctor's 
hands  and  chafed  his  wrists.     A  more  pro- 


286  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

nounced  groan  rewarded  him  and  then  the 
doctor  feeblj'  asked : 

"Where  am  I?" 

"You're  right  here  with  me,  sir.  How  do 
you  feel?  Are  you  hurt?"  asked  Joe, 
eagerly. 

"  But  where  am  I  ?  It's  so  dark !  Is  that 
you,  Joe?    Oh!  my  head!" 

"Is  your  head  hurt?  You  are  down  in 
the  hole  with  me.  Who  tied  \rou?  How  did 
it  happen?"  asked  Joe,  breathlessly. 

"Yes,  my  head  feels  sore.  The  Indians 
chased  me.  Oh!  How  I  ran  and  then  I 
remember  no  more.  Yes,  it  comes  to  me 
now,  how  I  let  the  rope  slip!  Were  3'ou 
hurt,  Joe?" 

"No,  no,  never  mind  about  me;  I'm  all 
right." 

"But  how  did  you  get  me  down  here  with 
you,  Joe?    Did  you  run  the  Indians  off?" 

"No,  sir,  they  must  have  thought  that 
they  had  killed  you  and  lowered  you  down 
here.  There  was  a  hair  rope  tied  about 
you." 


MARKING  THE  BOUNDARY.  287 

"Is  that  so?  But  why  don't  3^ou  light 
your  candle,  Joe?  Oh!  How  my  head 
aches !  There  is  an  awful  bruise  on  the  side 
of  my  head  and  it's  all  wet.  Strike  a  light, 
Joe.     This  darkness  is  awful." 

"I've  done  so  half  a  dozen  times,  sir,  but 
can't  keep  it  alight;  the  place  is  full  of  bats 
and  they  blow  it  out.  This  hair  rope  that 
was  tied  about  j^ou  seems  to  have  been 
fastened  to  something  above,  I'm  pulling 
all  my  weight  on  it." 

"Don't  doit,  Joe!  Let  it  alone!  Strike  a 
light." 

"All  right,  sir,"  replied  Joe,  and  he  struck 
a  match  and  lighted  the  candle  which  he 
protected  with  both  hands.  Its  fitful  glare 
showed  the  doctor  lying  at  his  feet,  a  most 
pitiable  object,  with  his  clothes  a  mass  of 
dirt  and  the  blood  covering  the  side  of  his 
face.  He  lay  on  a  heap  of  dried  grass  and 
dirt,  while  the  innumerable  bats  flitted 
savagely  about  their  heads. 

"If  you  can  hold  this  candle  in  your 
hands  away  from  the  bats  I'll  see  if  I  can't 


J*?38  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

knock  over  a  few  of  them  with  the  butt  of 
this  old  revolver,"  said  Joe. 

"It  will  do  no  good.  Joe,  we're  in  a  very 
bad  plight.' ' 

"Oh,  nonsense!  If  you're  not  hurt  we're 
all  right.  We  can  whip  a  regiment  of  them 
if  they  should  try  to  come  down  here  after 
us,  and  as  soon  as  we  fail  to  appear  at 
camp  at  the  usual  time  they  will  come  out 
and  look  us  up.  Don't  borrow  trouble,  I 
can  lay  out  a  few  of  these  bats  and  then 
they  will  let  me  alone.  I  owe  them  one  for 
the  fright  they  gave  me." 

''Did  the}'  frighten  you,  Joe  ?  " 

"I  tell  you  truly,  doctor,  that  I  believe  I 
never  knew  what  it  was  to  be  frightened 
before  in  mj'  life.  I've  alwa3^s  found  that 
the  excitement  incident  to  all  danger  keeps 
one's  courage  up.  But  down  here  alone 
with  those  awful  things  blowing  about  my 
face  and  touching  me  with  their  clammy 
wings,  I  actually  could  feel  my  knees 
tremble." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  289 

"It  was  too  bad,  but  I'm  keeping  you 
company  now." 

"Yes,  and  I  wish  you  were  safely  back  in 
camp." 

"But  where  do  you  wish  you  were?  " 

"Oh,  I'd  not  mind  being  there  with  \rou, 
but  if  help  doesn't  come  before  night  it's 
sure  to  come  in  the  morning." 

"I  hope  so;  I  wonder  what  time  it  is 
now;  it  must  be  night,"  continued  the  doc- 
tor, as  he  felt  for  his  watch. 

"Oh,  no!  It's  not  half  an  hour  since  I 
slid  down  the  rope." 

"Possible!  But,  Joe,  my  watch  is  gone! 
Those  scoundrels  must  have  stolen  it!" 
exclaimed  the  doctor,  not  finding  his  valu- 
able repeater. 

"That's  too  bad!  but  you  may  get  it 
back.     Hold  the  the  light  steady !  " 

Whack!  went  Joe's  clubbed  revolver 
against  a  big  bat  that  fell  to  the  ground 
with  a  dull  thud.  Joe  looked  about  him  as 
he  was  watching  for  a  chance  at  another, 
and  saw  that  they  were  in  a  regular  cave 

19 


290  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

some  twenty  feet  ,high  and  about  twice  as 
wide.  It  was  nearly  spherical  in  shape  and 
at  the  far  side  appeared  another  hole. 
Again  a  bat  came  close  to  him  and  then 
another  dull  thud.  This  one  fell  to  the 
ground  only  maimed,  and  set  up  the  most 
terrible  screeching  imaginable.  The  noise 
started  every  other  bat  in  the  place  to 
flying  and  now  Joe  had  all  he  could  do,  lay- 
ing about  him  in  gran  style  with  his  revol- 
ver for  a  club.  The  air  was  filled  with 
them,  and  in  the  darkness  so  feebly  illumi- 
nated by  the  shaded  candle  the\r  looked  as 
large  as  hawks.  Their  screeching  now  was 
terrible.  They  flew  about  in  clouds,  and 
Joe  stood  there  for  full  ten  minutes  knock- 
ing them  to  the  floor  of  the  cave;  then 
suddenly  the  bats  flew  to  the  roof  and 
crawled  into  innumerable  small  holes  up 
there. 

"  They  did  not  get  the  candle  out  that 
time,  but  my,  what  a  lot  I've  killed!  The 
floor  is  covered  with  them ! "  cried  Joe, 
taking    a    long    breath     after    his    violent 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  291 

exertions.  "How  does  \^our  head  feel  now, 
sir?" 

"Much  better,  I'm  not  much  hurt,  and  if 
I  were  only  out  of  this  I'd  be  all  right," 
replied  the  doctor,  touching  the  bruise  on 
his  head  tenderly. 

"All  in  good  time,  sir,  and  while  we  are 
waiting  I'm  going  to  explore  this  place 
a  bit.  There  is  a  large  hole  over  there  lead- 
ing somewhere." 

"Well,  do  be  careful.  We've  got  into 
trouble  enough  for  one  day." 

"I  shall  take  no  more  chances,  and  if  the 
traveling's  not  good  I'll  come  back.  You 
may  keep  this  light  and  I'll  fire  another." 

"Now,  mind  what  I  say,  and  take  care." 

"All  right,  sir," responded  Joe,  as  he  went 
across  the  cave  and  looked  beyond  him, 
holding  his  candle  above  his  head  as  he 
leaned  against  the  side  of  the  aperture.  He 
saw  before  him  the  interior  of  another 
chamber  much  like  the  one  they  were  in  but 
only  half  as  large.  Into  this  he  walked 
without    hindrance.     It     was    empty    and 


292  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

Joe  was  about  to  return  when  lie  noticed  a 
hole  at  the  far  side  of  this  one,  so  on  he 
went.  This  led  to  a  third  chamber,  still 
smaller,  which,  like  the  other,  was  einpt}^. 
At  the  far  side  of  this  was  a  similar  hole 
leading  to  the  fourth  chamber,  yet  smaller. 
In  fact,  Joe  had  to  almost  crawl  to  get  in. 
This  cave  was  quite  a  small  one  and 
evidently  the  last  of  the  chain  of  caverns. 
Joe  looked  about  him  and  saw  on  one  side 
the  bleached  and  whitened  bones  of  a  skele- 
ton. It  was  that  of  a  man  of  immense  size 
and  gave  Joe  a  thrill  of  horror  as  he  stood 
looking  at  the  ghastly  relic.  On  the  wall 
above  this,  deeply  cut  in  the  chalk}-  earth, 
were  the  initials  "W.A.C."  and  beneath 
the  elate  1850. 

"  The  same  that  were  cut  on  that  tree;  how 
very  odd!  Those  circles  must  have  referred 
to  this  chain  of  caves.  The  poor  fellow 
must  have  been  wounded  and  died  here.  He 
must  have  had  a  rope  to  help  him  out.  Per- 
haps some  Indians  found  it  and  pulled  it  up 
leaving  him  to  starve  down  in   here  like  a 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  293 

rat  in  a  hole !  Here  is  the  iron  of  a  pick  and 
shovel;  the  wooden  part  must  have  rotted 
and  decayed.  Why,  his  very  bones  are 
crumbling!  "  exclaimed  Joe,  to  himself,  as  he 
touched  the  skeleton  with  his  foot. 

"Some  poor  miner  or  prospector  has  lost 
his  life  here  for  the  hopes  of  gold  never  found, 
and  here's  his  camp  kettle,"  continued  Joe 
again,  hitting  this  article  a  kick,  but  instead 
of  tumbling  over  as  an  emptor  pot  should  it 
did  not  move  and  Joe  felt  his  toes  had 
received  the  worst  of  the  blow. 

"What's  in  the  thing,  anyway?"  ques- 
tioned Joe  of  himself,  as  he  stooped  down 
and  moved  the  dust  covered  top  with  one 
hand  holding  his  candle  carefully  with  the 
other. 

"Ha!  What's  this?  It's  gold!"  he 
exclaimed,  starting  up  in  amazement. 

Yes,  it  was  gold  ;  gold  in  its  most  alluring 
form ;  gold  just  as  it  had  been  taken  from 
the  hands  of  nature;  gold,  bright,  alluring, 
enchanting  gold ;   gold   in  beautiful  yellow 


294  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

dust  and  nuggets!  and  the  pot  was  full  to 
the  brim ! 

Joe  thrust  his  hands  into  it  and  allowed 
the  bright  particles  to  sift  through  his  fin- 
gers, to  persuade  himself  that  he  was  not 
dreaming. 

Then  he  took  the  pot  b}r  the  handle  and 
ascertained  its  weight  to  be  close  to  seventy- 
five  pounds,  as  he  carried  it  on  back  as  fast 
as  the  load  would  allow  him,  to  where  he 
had  left  the  doctor.  Dr.  Goon  was  even 
more  excited  than  Joe  had  been,  for  he  more 
thoroughly  understood  the  value  of  the  find. 

"You  will  be  a  rich  man,  Joe,  when  you 
get  all  this  back  to  civilization;  it's  all  yours, 
you  know7,  as  there  is  no  way  of  telling  who 
that  poor  unfortunate  may  have  been,  nor 
who  his  heirs  may  be." 

"If  that  be  the  case  of  course  we  shall  have 
to  keep  it." 

"But  it's  all  \-ours :  you  found  it." 

"Well,  indeed,  we'vefound  ittogether,  and 
we  share  alike  or  I  carry  it  back,"  cried  Joe, 
indignantly. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  295 

"  All  right,  Joe,  but  we're  not  out  of  here 
yet." 

"I  know  that,  but  it  can't  be  more  than 
an  hour,  now,  that  we've  been  down  here, 
and  you're  sure  there  were  only  three 
Indians  ?  " 
"Yes,  only  three;  was  notthat  enough?" 
"Three  too  many;  but  I  don't  think  they 
will  sta\r  about  the  hole  long;  I  think  I'll 
climb  up  the  rope  and  see  if  they  are  gone," 
replied  Joe. 

"What  do  you  say?   You're  crazy." 

"But  I'm   not,  lean   crawl  up  there  and 

reconnoiter.     There  can   be  no   danger.     If 

they  were  close  to   the  edge   of  the  hole   I 

could  slide  down  the  rope  like  a  flash.     You 

see,  the  last  half  of  this  shaft  slopes  at  an 

angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees,  and  is  so 

full  of  the  dead  grass  blown  down  that  if 

one  were  to  fall,  he'd  hardly  get  hurt." 

"Nonsense!    don't  talk  of  such  a  thing." 

"I  want  to  try  it,  there'll  be  no  harm.     If 

I  hear  them   before  I  get  to  the  top  I'll  slide 

down  again,  so  here  goes,"  persisted  Joe,  as 


296  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

he  grasped  the  rope  and  started  up  despite 
the  protestations  of  the  doctor. 

The  first  half  of  the  way  was  easy  enough 
with  his  feet  on  the  footwall  of  the  incline, 
and  pulling  hand  over  hand  on  the  rope  he 
was  soon  up  to  where  he  could  see  the  light 
of  day  shining  down  from  above.  The 
rest  of  Joe's  journey  was  a  more  difficult 
feat,  but  little  by  little  he  approached  the 
top.  Every  few  feet  he  would  stop  and 
listen  intently.  On  he  went,  not  hearing 
anj^thing  to  alarm  him.  His  feet  were 
employed  in  climbing  as  well  as  his  hands. 
Reaching  the  top  he  again  listened  for 
several  moments  before  peering  over  the 
edge  of  the  hole.  All  was  quiet  and  Joe 
cautiously  brought  his  head  above  the 
ground. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

As  he  first  glanced  about  him  he  saw 
nothing.  The  country  was  free  from  all 
intruders,  Joe  thought,  and  so,  reaching  out 
his  hand,  he  grasped  the  picket  pin  that  was 
firmly  driven  into  the  ground  and  raised 
himself  carefully  out.  This  brought  his 
head  above  the  grass,  although  he  still 
crouched  as  low  as  he  possibly  could.  This 
brought  into  view  the  welcome  sight  of 
Tom  coming  galloping  toward  him,  leading 
the  two  runaway  mules.  Filled  with  joy 
Joe  was  about  to  spring  to  his  feet  when  to 
his  consternation  he  discovered  lying  in  the 
grass  about  a  hundred  yards  from  him  the 
naked  forms  of  the  three  savages !  And  the 
unconscious  Tom  was  galloping  directly 
toward  them ! 

Joe  was  quick  to  think  and  quicker  still  to 
act.     He  drew  out   the  long  armv  revolver 

297 


298  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

from  the  belt  strapped  about  his  waist  and 
carefully  examined  it  as  he  crawled  a  few 
yards  toward  the  Indians.  On  came  Tom, 
shouting  and  yelling  as  loudly  as  he  could, 
and  the  Indians  carefully  raised  themselves 
a  trifle.  Joe  approached  the  murderous 
villains  with  his  revolver  at  full  cock,  resting 
the  long  barrel  in  his  left  hand  to  make 
his  aim  even  more  certain. 

At  any  other  time  it  would  have  seemed  a 
most  horrible  thing  to  Joe  to  shoot  a 
human  being  down  from  the  rear  without 
so  much  as  giving  him  a  chance  for  his  life, 
but  now,  with  three  of  them  to  contend 
against, and  the}^  lying  in  wait  to  slay  his 
best  friend,  not  the  slightest  compunction 
troubled  him  ;  he  was  onhr  anxious  lest  he 
might  miss  his  mark.  On  came  Tom,  hunt- 
ing for  the  hole  in  the  ground,  and  although 
there  was  nothing  to  mark  the  spot  at  any 
distance  }ret  his  bump  of  location  was  good 
and  he  was  making  a  most  remarkable 
guess.  The  Indians  were  each  now  on  one 
knee  holding  his  long  bow  tightly  drawn, 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  299 

with  a  deadly  arrow  at  the  string.  A  few 
steps  nearer  to  them  and  Joe,  taking  care- 
ful aim  at  the  back  of  the  Indian  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  group,  pulled  the  trigger. 

Bang!  rang  forth  the  heavy  revolver,  and 
Joe,  jumping  to  one  side  to  clear  himself  of 
the  heavy  cloud  of  smoke  that  rested  about 
him  in  the  still  air,  saw  the  savage  spring 
into  the  air,  both  arms  extended  and  fall 
over  backward.  The  other  two  turned 
upon  their  unknown  assailant  in  the  rear 
and  instantly  let  fly  the  arrows  that  had 
been  intended  for  Tom.  It  was  done  at  the 
same  instant  that  Joe's  second  shot  was 
made  which  took  effect,  disabling  the  right 
arm  of  one  of  them,  crushing  the  bone,  while 
their  arrows  flew  wide  of  the  mark.  Joe 
dropped  low  in  the  grass  to  avoid  the  next 
arrow,  not  knowing  that  but  one  of  his 
assailants    was  left  able    to    continue  the 

fight. 

Tom  had  stopped  short  at  this  unlookecl 
for  encounter  and  instantly  jumped  from 
his  mule  and  unslung  his  carbine  from  the 


300  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

saddle.  Tying  the  bridle  reins  of  the  three 
mules  together  to  prevent  their  running 
away,  he  took  a  shot  at  the  two  savages. 

Finding  themselves  between  two  fires  was 
too  much  for  the  equanimity  of  the  Indians, 
onl3r  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  and 
turning,  they  left  the  field  in  possession  of 
the  boys,  running  like  deer  to  the  coulee, 
where  the\^  had  left  their  ponies.  Tom  ran 
to  where  Joe  was  standing. 

"You're  not  hurt,  I  hope,  are  3rou?  But 
where's  the  doctor?  "  he  cried. 

" No,  I'm  all  right  and  so's  the  doctor," 
answered  Joe. 

"Then  let's  follow  those  fellows  on  our 
mules  and  give  them  another  voile y;  we  can 
catch  them  ;  what  do  3-ou  say  ?  " 

"No,  they've  got  their  ponies  hidden  over 
there,  and  the  chances  are  that  they  are 
getting  away  too  fast  for  us  to  catch  them; 
but  how  did  you  happen  to  come  with  our 
mules?  " 

"But  where's  Dr.  Goon?  Tell  me  that 
first." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  301 

"Oh,  he's  down  the  hole;  those  Indians 
nearly  killed  him,  but  he's  all  right  now. 
I've  laid  out  one  of  them." 

"How  lucky  I  came!  I  was  in  the  hills 
over  there  with  Hugill  after  specimens,  and 
your  mules  came  up  to  where  ours  were 
picketed  and  so  I  knew  the\-  must  have  left 
you  in  the  lurch,  and  catching  them  I  lost 
no  time  in  hunting  after  you.  I  thought 
you  would  be  at  the  hole  for  some  time  and 
be  glad  of  a  ride  back." 

"Yes,  we  will  be,  for  we've  got  quite  a 
load  to  take  back.  The  first  thing  to  do  is 
to  get  the  doctor  up  out  of  this  hole;  he  can 
never  climb  up." 

"How  did  he  get  down ?  " 

"Those  Indians  nearly  killed  him  when  I 
was  down  at  the  bottom ;  you  see,  the  doc- 
tor dropped  the  rope  on  which  I  went  clown, 
and  the\r  came  upon  him  all  alone  and 
nearly  killed  him,"  and  here  he  briefly 
related  their  troubles. 

Joe  again  slid  down  the  rope  and  found 
the  doctor  nearly  in    despair.     All   kinds   of 


302  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

disaster  had  flitted  through  his  mind,  and 
the  old  fellow  almost  cried  for  joy  at  seeing 
the  lad  again  before  him,  sound  and  well. 
Now  to  get  the  doctor  out.  The  first  part 
of  the  journey  he  managed  to  perform  with- 
out assistance.  Here  Joe  tied  the  rope  about 
him,  and  then  climbing  up  again,  he  and 
Tom  by  the  most  violent  exertions  arranged 
to  draw  him  to  the  surface. 

" Thank  Heaven!  I  am  again  in  the  light 
of  day,"  gasped  the  doctor,  for  the  rope  had 
cut  into  him  to  such  an  extent  that  he  had 
almost  lost  his  breath.  Joe  had  one  more 
trip  to  make  and  this  time  they  hauled  up 
the  pot  of  gold. 

" I  never  forget  the  Institute,"  remarked 
Joe,  slyly  pulling  a  couple  of  the  bats  from 
his  pocket. 

14  Good  for  3rou,  Joe,  but  I  shall  enjoy  a 
wash,"  said  the  doctor,  as  he  tried  to  brush 
some  of  the  dirt  from  his  clothes. 

"Never  mind  the  dirt;  you  are  out  of  it, 
most  luckily,  with  only  that  bruise  on  3'our 
head." 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  303 

"We  must  hurry  and  get  away  from  here. 
Those  fellows  will  lose  no  time  in  coming 
back  with  more  to  avenge  this  fellow's 
death ;  but  we  will  have  our  cavalry  after 
them  ;  we  will  teach  them  a  lesson,"  growled 
the  doctor,  savagely. 

It  was  with  much  trouble  that  their  treas- 
ure was  packed  on  one  of  the  mules,  but  at 
length  the\r  all  found  themselves  safeh^back 
at  camp,  but  the  secret  of  their  most  impor- 
tant find  was  religiously  kept  by  the  three, 
from  all  the  others. 

The  next  day  the  cavalry  searched  the 
prairies  but  could  not  find  anything  of  hos- 
tile Indians.  All  were  greatly  indignant 
that  the  venerable  doctor  should  have  been 
treated  in  such  a  manner.  Then  came 
orders  to  move  camp.  The  new  station, 
that  they  now  established,  was  about  half 
way  between  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills  and  the 
Rocky  mountains,  and  on  the  broad  rolling- 
prairie  again.  The  astronomical  party  and 
the  others  went  on  west  to  the  main  range, 
but  the  naturalist's  party  and   commissary- 


304?  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

department  remained  here,  with  a  portion 
of  the  escort.  The  doctor  and  Joe  insisted 
upon  dividing  their  treasure  equally  with 
Tom,  as  he  had  been  with  Joe  when  he  dis- 
covered the  bats'  hole. 

Their  labors  here  were  much  the  same  as 
the}'  had  been  and  thus  the  balance  of  the 
summer  and  early  fall  slipped  by  them,  their 
duties  being  more  like  a  continued  round  of 
pleasure  than  anything  else,  and  when  with 
the  shortening  days  came  the  news  that 
the  expedition  was  getting  ready  to  return, — 
each  party  having  about  finished  its  labors, — 
both  Tom  and  Joe  felt  a  pang  of  regret  at 
having  to  leave  the  broad  prairies,  and 
return  to  civilization. 

A  three  days' journey  due  south  brought 
them  to  a  government  post  called  Fort 
Shaw;  here  their  large  escort  of  cavalry 
and  infantry  had  orders  to  report  for  duty, 
leaving  the  civilians  to  proceed  to  Fort 
Benton  without  them,  as  they  were  now  in 
a  country  settled  sparseh^  b\r  the  whites. 
Fort  Benton,  as  the  place  was  yet  called, 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  305 

was  not  a  military  post,  although  soldiers 
had  formerh- been  stationed  there,  and  it\ret 
retained  its  old  appellation.  It  was  a 
trading  post,  at  the  extreme  head  of  naviga- 
tion of  the  Missouri  river,  and  then  boast- 
ing of  five  hundred  inhabitants. 

At  this  point,  a  general  disorganization 
of  the  expedition  took  place,  for  as  many 
decided  to  remain  in  the  country  as  chose 
to  return.  Such  a  number  of  men  scattered 
about  Fort  Benton  could  but  enliven  it  for 
the  time.  Those  who  had  elected  to  cast 
their  fortunes  in  that  distant  land  were 
buying  ponies  to  carry  them  to  the  capital, 
Helena,  the  famed  city  of  the  Northwest, 
and  our  ever  venturesome  Joe  was  among 
the  latter. 

"You've  actually  made  up  your  mind  to 

leave  us,  have  3-011,  Joe?"   asked   Tom,  as 

the  two  boys  strolled  along  the  main  street 

of  the  town,  which  ran  along  the  river  bank 

and  had  but  a  row  of  buildings  on  the  one 

side  of  it,  facing  the  river. 
20 


306  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"Yes,  I'm  going  to  Helena  to  try  my 
fortunes  there.  There  is  no  opening  for  a 
fellow  in  St.  Paul,  and  I  have  got  to  carve 
my  own  way  in  this  world,  and  I  think  I'll 
find  a  place  for  myself  at  something," 
answered  Joe. 

They  were  slowly  walking  along  on  the 
rough  board  sidewalks,  casually  observing 
the  crude  style  of  the  buildings,  the  most  of 
which  were  made  of  hewed  logs,  and  nearly 
eveiw  other  one  being  occupied  by  a  vender 
of  spirituous  liquors.  They  were  now  pass- 
ing a  barber's  shop,  and  were  almost 
knocked  over  by  a  round,  fat-faced  barber, 
who  with  a  towel  in  one  hand  and  a  razor 
in  the  other,  dashed  out  of  the  door,  mak- 
ing no  cessation  in  his  rapid  flight  until  he 
reached  the  middle  of  the  street.  The  boys' 
attention  was  next  given  to  the  pursuer, 
who  had  followed  him  closely  through  the 
door,  but  stopped  on  the  sidewalk.  He 
was  an  exceedingly  tall,  long-legged  individ- 
ual, with  a  short  stumpy  beard  on  his 
chin,  his  cheeks  showing  that  they  had  been 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  307 

just  shaved.  They  did  not  recognize  him 
until  he  spoke,  and  his  wrath  prevented  him 
from  doing  this  for  several  seconds. 

It  was  Hugill ! 

But  where  were  his  beautiful  long  side 
whiskers — those  rivals  of  Lord  Dundreary's  ? 
A  realizing  sense  of  the  metamorphosis 
dawning  upon  the  boA^s  they  broke  out  into 
smiles,  then  into  uncontrollable  fits  of 
laughter,  and  Hugill  sputtered,  fumed,  and 
rayed,  mingling  imprecations  on  the  Dutch 
barber,  with  his  lamentations  for  his  lost 
treasures. 

"Oh!  The  blooming  idiot!  He  has  made 
a  bloody  Yankee  of  me,  3re  know,"  howled 
Hugill,  as  he  felt  of   his  chin. 

"Oho !  Why, how— Ha !  Ha !  Ha  !  "  roared 
Tom,  who  had  lost  all  powers  of  speech, 
laughing  at  the  ridiculous  plight  of  Mr. 
Hugill. 

"Why,  ye  know,  if  I  didn't  want  to 
avoid  a  row,  I'd  punch  his  mulish  head,  ye 
know !  I  was  up  nearby  all  last  night,  and 
I  fell  into  a  doze,   }re  know,  and  instead  of 


308  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

scraping  me  chin   as  I   told   him,  Oh!  con- 
found the  bloody  fool !  " 

"Oh!  Lordy!  Lordy!  What— Ha!  Ha! 
Ha! "  Here  Joe's  laughter  got  the  better  of 
him,  and  his  sentence  was  unfinished. 

"Yes,  this  is  the  trick  he's  played  me, 
tricked  me  out  like  a  nasal  twanging  Yan- 
kee, ye  know!  "  stormed  Hugill,  shaking  his 
fist  at  the  trembling  barber  in  the  middle  of 
the  road  ejaculating  many  apologies. 

"Oh!  Lord,  what  would  your  — Ha!  Ha! 
Ha!"  roared  Joe,  as  Hugill  clutched  at  the 
hirsute  appendage  on  his  chin  as  if  in  mad 
endeavor  to  have  it  torn  off. 

"I  was  in  great  luck  that  I  stopped  him 
in  time  to  save  my  moustache,  \^e  know." 

"Oh!  dear!  I  shall  die!  But  what  would 
your — your  aunt,  say  now?  Ha!  Ha! 
Ha!  "  gasped  Joe. 

"  Yes,  the  Lady  Frances  Hugill !  Ha !  Ha !  " 

"Yes,  I  think  so.  Come  back  here,  3^011 
grinning  ape,  and  take  this  thing  off  my 
chin!  You're  in  luck  I  don't  punch  your 
mulish  head,  ye  know!  "  thundered  Hugill, 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  309 

and  the  poor  barber,  striking  up  a  truce 
with  the  irate  Hugill,  proceeded  to  finish 
his  contract,  and  the  boys  went  on  down 
the  street. 

"That  barber  has  got  the  best  joke  of  the 
season  on  Hugill;  it  will  take  him  a  long 
time  to  recover  those  beauties.  That  bar- 
ber has  been  a  Delilah  to  him." 

"He'll  not  be  so  conceited  now;  I  hear  he 
is  going  to  Helena,  too." 

rt  Company  for  you,  Joe." 

"No,  I  thank  you,  I  shall  go  alone.  I 
want  to  cut  adrift  from  them  all,  for,  as 
you  can  see,  they  are  already  trying  to 
spend  their  monev-  as  fast  as  they  can,  and, 
as  I  am  going  to  send  mine  home,  I  don't 
care  to  keep  airy  of  them  company,  unless  I 
find  some  one  of  them  as  soberly  disposed  as 
myself." 

"That's  right,  Joe,  but  I  do  wish  you 
were  going  down  the  river  with  us  in  the 
boats.  It  seems  as  if  we  ought  not  to  part 
until  we  got  back  to  the  place  we  started 
from." 


310  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

"  I  am  only  doing  what  I  think  is  the  best 
tiling  for  me  to  do  for  im^self." 

"Of  course,  of  course,  and  I  hope  it   will 
turn  out  to  be  so." 

"I  trust  it  will,"  replied  Joe,  earnestly. 
Some  half  dozen  large  boats  had  been 
built  for  them,  and  were  now  lying  on  the 
river  bank,  and  in  them,  all  those  who  chose 
to  return  found  transportation  down  to 
Bismarck  where  the\-  were  to  take  the  cars 
for  St.  Paul.  Hugill  had  found  all  of  his 
trunks  stored  in  the  only  warehouse  in  the 
place,  and  a  freight  and  storage  bill  of  such 
a  length  as  to  appall  him.  He  also  found 
himself  in  a  land  of  limited  transportation 
facilities.  Just  what  to  do  he  did  not  know 
until  he  was  struck  with  the  brilliant 
expedient  of  auctioning  them  off.  This  he 
did,  and  most  successfully,  being  his  own 
auctioneer.  He  gave  the  most  graphic 
account  imaginable  of  every  garment,  the 
very  street  in  London  in  which  it  had  been 
purchased,  and  just  the  number  of  pounds, 
shillings  and   pence  that  it  had  cost  him. 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  311 

This  lucid  description  convinced  them  all 
that  they  were  buying  imported  goods,  and 
they  were  willing  to  pay  well  for  such. 
Hugill  afterward  confessed  unblushingly  to 
Joe  that  this  was  all  a  fabrication  on  his 
part  as  he  had  purchased  everything  in  St. 
Paul,  "but  it  was  such  fun  to  get  a  jolhT 
price  from  the  grasping  Yankees,  ye  know." 
It  was  a  question  which  of  the  two  lads 
felt  the  worse  at  parting,  and  although  it  is 
alwa3^s  accredited  to  the  one  that  goes  away 
as  being  happier  than  he  who  sta}rs  behind, 
yet  in  this  instance  it  is  safe  to  say  the  old  ad- 
age was  reversed.  Joe,  with  the  world  before 
him,  had  the  excitement  of  expectant  inci- 
dents to  sustain  him,  while  Tom  could 
onhr  see  the  possibilities  of  misfortunes  for 
his  comrade.  The  flat-bottomed  boats 
floated  down  the  rapid  current,  and  as  long 
as  they  were  in  sight  Tom  kept  his  hand- 
kerchief waving  to  signal  kind  wishes  and 
farewells  to  the  one  that  stood  on  the  bank, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  last  bend  of  the 


312  MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY. 

river  served  to  hide  them  all  from  view  for- 
ever, that  Joe's  fortitude  gave  way  and  the 
tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks. 

This  all  happened  many  3rears  ago,  and 
Joe  has  never  had  cause  to  regret  the  tears 
shed  there,  on  the  banks  of  the  upper 
Missouri  for  his  departing  friend.  Tom 
soon  after  this  was  admitted  to  West  Point, 
where  he  afterward  was  graduated  with 
honors,  and  is  now  a  first  lieutenant,  serv- 
ing his  country  on  the  frontiers  of  Texas, 
a  young  officer  respected  by  his  superiors 
and  idolized  by  his  men.  JoeConklin  landed 
his  share  of  the  gold  dust  safely  in  Helena 
where  he  found  that  it  was  worth  much 
more  than  he  had  dreamed.  His  disposition 
of  this  sudden  wealth  did  credit  to  the  lad. 
He  sent  a  greater  part  of  it  back  to  his 
father  to  pay  off  a  mortgage  that  he  knew 
had  long  been  standing  on  their  homestead, 
which  had  often  been  accredited  by  Joe  as 
the  cause  of  his  father's  irritable  disposi- 
tion.    Joe's  business    transactions   at    the 


MARKING    THE    BOUNDARY.  313 

bank  resulted  in  securing  him  a  position  in 
it,  and  should  any  of  the  readers  of  this 
story  have  occasion  to  transact  business  at 
the  Fourth  National  Bank  at  Helena,  they 
will  find  in  the  genial  and  business-like  cash- 
ier the  original  of  my  sketch. 

THE  END. 


